| olfactory roots | Three distinct fibre bands (stria medialis, stria intermedia, stria lateralis) that caudally extend the olfactory tract beyond its attachment to the olfactory trigone. The medial stria curves dorsally into the tenia tecta; the intermediate, often barely visible, extends straight back and terminates in the olfactory tubercle; the lateral olfactory stria, the largest of the three, passes along the lateral side of the olfactory tubercle, curving laterally as far as the limen insulae, then sharply medially to reach the uncus of the parahippocampal gyrus where it terminates in the plexiform layer of the olfactory cortex. See: medial longitudinal stria. Synonym: striae olfactoriae, olfactory roots. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| olfactory striae | Three distinct fibre bands (stria medialis, stria intermedia, stria lateralis) that caudally extend the olfactory tract beyond its attachment to the olfactory trigone. The medial stria curves dorsally into the tenia tecta; the intermediate, often barely visible, extends straight back and terminates in the olfactory tubercle; the lateral olfactory stria, the largest of the three, passes along the lateral side of the olfactory tubercle, curving laterally as far as the limen insulae, then sharply medially to reach the uncus of the parahippocampal gyrus where it terminates in the plexiform layer of the olfactory cortex. See: medial longitudinal stria. Synonym: striae olfactoriae, olfactory roots. (05 Mar 2000) |
| olfactory sulcus | The sagittal sulcus on the inferior or orbital surface of each frontal lobe of the cerebrum, demarcating the straight gyrus from the orbital gyri, and covered on the orbital surface by the olfactory bulb and tract. Synonym: sulcus olfactorius, olfactory groove. (05 Mar 2000) |
| olfactory sulcus of nasal cavity | The narrow groove in the nasal cavity above the agger nasi that leads from the atrium to the olfactory area. Synonym: sulcus olfactorius cavum nasi. (05 Mar 2000) |
| olfactory tract | A nervelike, white band composed primarily of nerve fibres originating from the mitral cells and tufted cells of the olfactory bulb but also containing the scattered cells of the anterior olfactory nucleus. The tract is closely applied to the ventral surface of the frontal lobe, and attaches itself to the base of the cerebral hemisphere at the olfactory trigone, beyond which it extends in the form of the olfactory striae which distribute their fibres to the olfactory tubercle and, in largest number, to the olfactory cortex on and around the uncus of the parahippocampal gyrus. See: olfactory nerves. Synonym: tractus olfactorius, olfactory peduncle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| olfactory trigone | A grayish triangular area corresponding to the attachment of the olfactory peduncle ("olfactory nerve" or olfactory tract) to the base of the brain, at the anterior border of the anterior perforated substance. Synonym: trigonum olfactorium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| olfactory tubercle | A small, oval area at the base of the cerebral hemisphere, between the diverging medial and lateral olfactory striae, in the anteromedial part of the anterior perforated substance; it is formed by a small area of allocortex characterised by the presence of the islands of Calleja. Corresponding to a much more prominent structure in nonprimate mammals (especially rodents and insectivores), the olfactory tubercle receives fibres from the olfactory bulb by way of the intermediate olfactory stria; it has efferent connections with the hypothalamus and the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus. Synonym: tuberculum olfactorium. (05 Mar 2000) |
| abducens nucleus | Nucleus of abducent nervenucleus abducentis, a group of motor neurons in the lower part of the pons, innervating the lateral rectus muscle of the eye; unique among motor cranial nerve nuclei in that it consists of two distinct populations of neurons: neurons that give rise to fibres forming the abducens nerve root and those internuclear neurons whose processes cross the midline, ascend in the opposite medial longitudinal fasciculus, and terminate upon specific oculomotor neurons; considered a primary centre for mechanisms controlling conjugate horizontal gaze. Synonym: nucleus nervi abducentis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| accessory cuneate nucleus | A cell group lateral to the cuneate nucleus which receives posterior-root fibres corresponding to the proprioceptive innervation of the arm and hand; it projects to the cerebellum by way of the cuneocerebellar tract, and can be considered the upper-extremity equivalent of the thoracic nucleus. Synonym: nucleus cuneatus accessorius, external cuneate nucleus, lateral cuneate nucleus, Monakow's nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| almond nucleus | Almond-shaped group of basal nuclei anterior to the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle of the brain, within the temporal lobe. The amygdala is part of the limbic system. (12 Dec 1998) |
| ambiguous nucleus | A very slender, longitudinal column of motor neurons in the ventrolateral medulla oblongata; its efferent fibres leave with the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerve and innervate the striated muscle fibres of the pharynx (including the musculus levator veli palatini) and the vocal cord muscles of the larynx. Synonym: ambiguous nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amygdaloid nucleus | Almond-shaped group of basal nuclei anterior to the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle of the brain, within the temporal lobe. The amygdala is part of the limbic system. (12 Dec 1998) |
| anterior extremity of caudate nucleus | The head or anterior extremity of the caudate nucleus projecting into the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle. Synonym: caput nuclei caudati, anterior extremity of caudate nucleus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anterodorsal thalamic nucleus | anterodorsal thalamic nucleus |
| anteromedial thalamic nucleus | anteromedial thalamic nucleus |