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• pons
  pons

  noun

  a band of nerve fibers in the brain connecting the lobes of the midbrain, medulla, and cerebrum.
• Pons
  Pons

  noun

  Lily 1904–76, U.S. operatic soprano, born in France.

pons

¹ American  

[ponz] / pɒnz /

noun

Anatomy.

• pontes
  plural

1. Also called pons Varolii.  a band of nerve fibers in the brain connecting the lobes of the midbrain, medulla, and cerebrum.

2. any tissue connecting two parts of a body organ or structure.

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Pons ² American  

[ponz, pawns] / pɒnz, pɔ̃s /

noun

1. Lily 1904–76, U.S. operatic soprano, born in France.

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pons British  

/ pɒnz /

noun

1. a bridge of connecting tissue

2. short for pons Varolii

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pons Scientific  

/ pŏnz /

• pontes
  plural

1. A thick band of nerve fibers in the brainstem of humans and other mammals that links the brainstem to the cerebellum and upper portions of the brain. It is important in the reflex control of involuntary processes, including respiration and circulation. All neural information transmitted between the spinal cord and the brain passes through the pons.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pontes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pons

1685–95; < Latin pōns bridge ( see punt ¹)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pons Pons pontes

Han's team hypothesized that certain emotions or behaviors could lead cortical neurons to activate the pons, which would then lower activity in the medulla, resulting in slower breath.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024

However, messages coming down from the pons actually inhibit activity in the medulla, leading breathing rates to slow down.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 19, 2024

Cochlear neurons send descending projections to the spinal cord and ascending projections to the pons, thalamus, and cerebellum.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

The afferent, bipolar neurons that convey auditory information travel from the cochlea to the medulla, through the pons and midbrain in the brainstem, finally reaching the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

From this reception area the transverse fibres of the pons originate and enter the crus.

From Degeneracy Its Causes, Signs and Results by Eugene S. Talbot

Jake Paul and Lele Pons are two of those who made their names on the platform before it was shut down by its owner Twitter in 2017.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

“The mood of people was no joy,” Pons said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025

Jordi Pons: I look at what players do on the pitch.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2025

Retired banker and longtime Republican activist Lori Marie Pesta and retired airline pilot Mike Pons are running against Loudermilk in the 11th Congressional District northwest of Atlanta.

From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024

The Director, M. Pons, said: "You can only be together for a quarter of an hour."

From My Memoirs by Marguerite Steinheil

This is now a sacred island, lying by the city, adorned with temples of the gods, and walks, and is called in the Latin tongue inter duos pontes.

From Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans by Arthur Hugh Clough

After passing through the pontes they received the voting tablets at the entrance of the septa.

From Plutarch's Lives, Volume II by Aubrey Stewart

Where this great road crosses streams and might reasonably be lost, at its pontes, its bridges, it has remained, and is of such importance as to have given a name to a whole countryside--Ponthieu.

From First and Last by Hilaire Belloc