| nucleus preopticus medialis | A group of nerve cells forming the medial zone of the preoptic region. Synonym: nucleus preopticus medialis. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| nucleus pulposus | The soft fibrocartilage central portion of the intervertebral disk; regarded as a derivative of the notochord. Synonym: gelatinous nucleus, nucleus gelatinosus, vertebral pulp. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus pyramidalis | An obsolete term for nucleus olivaris accessorius medialis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus reticularis thalami | A sheet of fairly large neurons covering the lateral, ventral, and rostral surfaces of the thalamus; its reticular appearance is caused by the numerous fascicles of the thalamic peduncles which traverse the nucleus The nucleus receives numerous fibres from the cerebral cortex but it has no cortical projection. Synonym: nucleus reticularis thalami. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus ruber | A distinctive oval nucleus (pink in fresh specimens because of an iron-containing pigment in many of the cells) centrally placed in the upper mesencephalic reticular formation. It receives fibres from the deep cerebellar nuclei and cerebral cortex and projects fibres to the cerebellum, brainstem, spinal cord, and probably to the thalamus. The nucleus is divided into two regions: pars magnocellularis and pars parvocellularis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| nucleus sensorius principalis nervi trigemini | <anatomy, nerve> The term commonly used to designate the nucleus pontis nervi trigeminalis; located in pons lateral to the motor trigeminal nucleus; receives primary sensory (touch and pressure) input via the trigeminal nerve, projects to ventral posteromedial nucleus of thalamus. Synonym: nucleus sensorius principalis nervi trigemini, nucleus sensorius superior nervi trigemini, principal sensory nucleus of the trigeminus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus sensorius superior nervi trigemini | <anatomy, nerve> The term commonly used to designate the nucleus pontis nervi trigeminalis; located in pons lateral to the motor trigeminal nucleus; receives primary sensory (touch and pressure) input via the trigeminal nerve, projects to ventral posteromedial nucleus of thalamus. Synonym: nucleus sensorius principalis nervi trigemini, nucleus sensorius superior nervi trigemini, principal sensory nucleus of the trigeminus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus spinalis nervi accessorii | spinal nucleus of accessory nerve |
| nucleus subthalamicus | A circumscript nucleus, shaped like a biconvex lens, located in the ventral part of the subthalamus on the dorsal surface of the peduncular part of the internal capsule immediately rostral to the substantia nigra. The nucleus receives a massive topographic projection from the lateral segment of the globus pallidus, and a somatopically organised projection from the ipsilateral motor cortex; a smaller bundle of afferents from the centromedian nucleus of the thalamus terminate in the rostral part of the nucleus The subthalamic nucleus projects to both pallidal segments, to the pars reticulata of the substantia nigra, and in a small way to the ipsilateral pedunculopontine nucleus. Synonym: nucleus subthalamicus, corpus luysi, Luys' body, nucleus of Luys. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus suprachiasmatica | Small nucleus located dorsal to the optic chiasm; receives input from retina, influences hypothalamic neuroendocrine function; closely associated with regulation of circadian rhythmicity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus supraopticus hypothalami | A large-celled neurosecretory nucleus in the hypothalamus, located over the lateral border of the optic tract, from which the supraopticohypophysial tract arises; its neurons produce and transport vasopressin released into the general circulation from the axon terminals in the supraopticohypophysial tract. Synonym: nucleus supraopticus hypothalami, supraoptic nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus tecti | The most medial of the cerebellar nuclei, lying medial to the interpositus nucleus, near the midline, in the white matter underneath the vermis of the cerebellar cortex. It receives the axons of Purkinje cells from all parts of the vermis. Its major projection is to the vestibular nuclei and medullary reticular formation. Synonym: nucleus fastigii, fastigatum, nucleus tecti, roof nucleus, tectal nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus thoracicus | A column of large neurons located in the base of the posterior gray column of the spinal cord, extending from the first thoracic through the second lumbar segment; it gives rise to the dorsal spinocerebellar tract of the same side. Synonym: nucleus thoracicus, Clarke's column, Clarke's nucleus, dorsal nucleus, nucleus dorsalis, Stilling's column, Stilling's nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus tractus mesencephali nervi trigemini | <anatomy, nerve> A long, narrow plate of unipolar neurons extending throughout the length of the midbrain, in and along the lateral angle of the central gray substance. The nucleus is the single known instance of primary sensory neurons enclosed in the central nervous system instead of in a peripheral sensory ganglion. Its peripheral axonal processes pass with the trigeminal nerve, give collaterals to the trigeminal motor nucleus, and terminate in the muscles of mastication. Synonym: nucleus tractus mesencephali nervi trigemini. (05 Mar 2000) |
| nucleus tractus solitarii | A slender cell column extending sagittally through the dorsal part of the medulla oblongata, beneath the floor of the rhomboid fossa, immediately lateral to the limiting sulcus. It is the visceral sensory (visceral afferent) nucleus of the brainstem, receiving the afferent fibres of the vagus, glossopharyngeal, and facial nerves by way of the solitary tract. The caudal two-thirds of the nucleus processes impulses originating in the pharynx, larynx, intestinal and respiratory tracts, and heart and large blood vessels; its rostral one-third receives impulses from the taste buds and is known as the rhombencephalic gustatory nucleus. Synonym: nucleus tractus solitarii. (05 Mar 2000) |