Hindbrain | |
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![]() Scheme of the roof of the fourth ventricle. | |
Identifiers | |
MeSH | D012249 |
NeuroNames | 540 |
NeuroLex ID | birnlex_942 |
TA98 | A14.1.03.002 |
FMA | 67687 |
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy |
The hindbrain or rhombencephalon or lower brain [1] is a developmental categorization of portions of the central nervous system in vertebrates. It includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum. Together they support vital bodily processes. [2]
Rhombomeres Rh3-Rh1 form the metencephalon.
The metencephalon is composed of the pons and the cerebellum; it contains:
Rhombomeres Rh8-Rh4 form the myelencephalon.
The myelencephalon forms the medulla oblongata in the adult brain; it contains:
The hindbrain is homologous to a part of the arthropod brain known as the sub-oesophageal ganglion, in terms of the genes that it expresses and its position in between the brain and the nerve cord. [3] It has been suggested that the hindbrain first evolved in the Urbilaterian—the last common ancestor of chordates and arthropods—between 570 and 555 million years ago. [3] [4]
A rare brain disease of the cerebellum is rhombencephalosynapsis characterized by an absent or partially formed vermis. Symptoms can include truncal ataxia. The disorder is a main feature of Gomez-Lopez-Hernandez syndrome.