| paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus | Nucleus in the anterior part of the hypothalamus. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| paraventricular nucleus | A triangular group of large magnocellular neurons in the periventricular zone of the anterior half of the hypothalamus. The cells of the nucleus are similar to those of the supraoptic nucleus; the axons of about 20% of their number join in the formation of the supraopticohypophysial tract and are functionally associated with the posterior lobe of the hypophysis; they project fibres to the brainstem nuclei (dorsal motor nucleus and solitary nucleus) and to the intermediolateral cell column of the spinal cord at thoracic, lumbar, and spinal levels; similar descending autonomic fibres arise from the lateral and posterior hypothalamic nuclei. Synonym: nucleus paraventricularis, filiform nucleus, nucleus filiformis. (05 Mar 2000) |