Mesencephalon
| Midbrain | |
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Inferior view midbrain (2), above (3)
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| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | mesencephalon |
| MeSH | A08.186.211.132.659 |
| NeuroNames | hier-445 |
| NeuroLex ID | Midbrain |
| TA | A14.1.03.005 |
| FMA | 61993 |
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Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy
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The midbrain or mesencephalon (from the Greek mesos, middle, and enkephalos, brain) is a portion of the central nervous system associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep/wake, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation.
The midbrain comprises the tectum, tegmentum, the cerebral aqueduct, and the cerebral peduncles, as well as several nuclei and fasciculi. the midbrain adjoins the metencephalon (afterbrain) (pons and cerebellum); while it adjoins the diencephalon (thalamus, hypothalamus, etc.)
Specifically, the midbrain consists of:
Brain Anatomy - Mid-fore-hindbrain.
The corpora quadrigemina ("quadruplet bodies") are four solid lobes on the dorsal side of the cerebral aqueduct, where the superior posterior pair are called the superior colliculi and the inferior posterior pair are called the inferior colliculi. The homologous structures are called optic lobes in some lower vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, and birds) where they integrate sensory information from the eyes and certain auditory reflexes.
The four solid lobes help to decussate several fibres of the optic nerve. However, some fibers also show ipsilateral arrangement (i.e., they run parallel on the same side without decussating.)
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