1. A computer-implemented method for recognizing gross features from a region of interest of a subject, comprising: receiving an image comprising a plurality of image elements representing the region of interest of the subject to a data storage device; co-registering, using at least one data processor, the image to an atlas to segment the plurality of image elements into a plurality of sub-regions corresponding to structures in the atlas, wherein the structures in the atlas are ordered in a first rank order according to a predetermined feature of the structures; ordering, using the at least one data processor, the plurality of sub-regions in a second rank order according to the predetermined feature; and identifying as gross features one or more of the plurality of sub-regions whose positions in the second rank order of the ordered sub-regions differ from positions in the first rank order of the corresponding ordered structures in the atlas, wherein the gross features are sub-regions whose positions in the second rank order differ from the positions in the first rank order of the corresponding structures in the atlas by at least three positions.