Cytoarchitecture

Cytoarchitecture (Greek κύτος= "cell" + ἀρχιτεκτονική= "architecture"), also known as cytoarchitectonics, is the study of the cellular composition of the central nervous system's tissues under the microscope. Cytoarchitectonics is one of the ways to parse the brain, by obtaining sections of the brain using a microtome and staining them with chemical agents which reveal where different neurons are located.

The study of the parcellation of nerve fibers (primarily axons) into layers forms the subject of myeloarchitectonics (<Gk. μυελός=marrow + ἀρχιτεκτονική=architecture), an approach complementary to cytoarchitectonics.