brainstem
or brain stem
the portion of the brain that is continuous with the spinal cord and comprises the medulla oblongata, pons, midbrain, and parts of the hypothalamus, functioning in the control of reflexes and such essential internal mechanisms as respiration and heartbeat.
Origin of brainstem
1Words Nearby brainstem
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use brainstem in a sentence
The locus coeruleus, an area of the brainstem, synthesizes the stress hormone norepinephrine.
They knew how to trigger these retinal and brainstem neurons to pass electrical impulses—information, essentially—by projecting spots of light.
The Accident That Led to Machines That Can See - Issue 107: The Edge | Phil Jaekl | October 20, 2021 | NautilusYou say we really have two brains—the brainstem and the cortex.
The cortex borrows, as it were, its consciousness from the brainstem.
He makes a convincing case for paying more attention to the “densely knotted core of the brainstem.”
Brain death implies the complete and permanent absence of neurological function in the cortex and the brainstem.
Families and Physicians Debate the True Meaning of Brain Death | Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Richard Joseph | January 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
British Dictionary definitions for brainstem
/ (ˈbreɪnˌstɛm) /
the stalklike part of the brain consisting of the medulla oblongata, the midbrain, and the pons Varolii
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for brainstem
[ brān′stĕm′ ]
The part of the vertebrate brain located at the base of the brain and made up of the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain. The brainstem controls and regulates vital body functions, including respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. See also reticular formation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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