The visual relay nucleus of the thalamus. It is actually a set of nuclei located on the bottom rear edges of the thalamus, lateral to the medial geniculate nucleus. Axons from the retinal ganglion cells of the retina reach the lateral geniculate via the optic nerve and optic tract and then synapse in topographic order. Axons from the lateral geniculate neurons run in the optic radiation and synapse in the primary visual cortex in the occipital hemisphere, again maintaining their topographic organization.