mesencephalon

American  

[mes-en-sef-uh-lon, -luhn, mez-] / ˌmɛs ɛnˈsɛf əˌlɒn, -lən, ˌmɛz- /

noun

plural

mesencephala, mesencephalons

1. Anatomy. the midbrain.

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mesencephalon British  

/ ˌmɛsɛnsɪˈfælɪk, ˌmɛsɛnˈsɛfəˌlɒn /

noun

1. Nontechnical name: midbrain.  the part of the brain that develops from the middle portion of the embryonic neural tube Compare prosencephalon rhombencephalon

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Other Word Forms

• mesencephalic adjective

Etymology

Origin of mesencephalon

First recorded in 1840–50; mes- + encephalon

Example Sentences

Whereas prosencephalon and mesencephalon translate into the English words forebrain and midbrain, there is not a word for “four-sided-figure-brain.”

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The mesencephalon, metencephalon, and myelencephalon become the brain stem.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The brain stem includes the midbrain, pons, and medulla, which correspond to the mesencephalon, metencephalon, and myelencephalon.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

There is also a connection of the optic tract to the midbrain, but the mesencephalon is adjacent to the diencephalon, so that is not difficult to imagine.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The mesencephalon or mid-brain, when looked at from the dorsal surface, shows a pair of large hollow swellings, the optic lobes or corpora bigemina.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various