(neuroscience) Either of two small, spherical masses of gray matter at the base of the brain in the space between the hypophysis and oculomotor nerve, which receive and relay olfactory impulses.
Mammillary body
| Sci-Tech Dictionary: mammillary body |
(′ma·mə′ler·ē ¦bäd·ē)
| 5min Related Video: Mammillary body |
| Medical Dictionary: mamillary body |
n.
A small round paired cell group that protrudes into the interpeduncular fossa from the inferior aspect of the hypothalamus, receives a major bundle of hippocampal fibers from the fornix, and projects fibers to the anterior thalamic nuclei and into the tegmentum of the brainstem.
| WordNet: mammillary body |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
one of two small round structures on the undersurface of the brain that form the terminals of the anterior arches of the fornix
Synonyms: mamillary body, corpus mamillare
| Wikipedia: Mammillary body |
| Brain: Mammillary body | ||
|---|---|---|
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| The hypophysis cerebri in position. Shown in sagittal section. (Label "corpus mamillare" at right.) | ||
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| Coronal section of brain through intermediate mass of third ventricle. (Label "corpus mamillare" at bottom.) | ||
| Latin | corpus mamillare | |
| Gray's | subject #188 813 | |
| Part of | Midbrain | |
| System | Limbic | |
| Components | medial mammillary nucleus lateral mammillary nucleus |
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| Acronym(s) | mmb | |
| NeuroNames | hier-395 | |
| MeSH | Mamillary+Bodies | |
| NeuroLex ID | birnlex_865 | |
The mammillary bodies (mamillary bodies) are a pair of small round bodies, located on the undersurface of the brain, that form part of the limbic system. They are located at the ends of the anterior arches of the fornix. They consist of two groups of nuclei, the medial mammillary nuclei and the lateral mammillary nuclei.[1]
Neuroanatomists have often categorized the mammillary bodies as part of the hypothalamus.[2]
Contents |
Connections
They are connected to other parts of the brain (as shown in the schematic, below left), and act as a relay for impulses coming from the amygdalae and hippocampi, via the mamillo-thalamic tract to the thalamus.
This circuit, from amygdalae to mammillary bodies, and then on to the thalamus, is part of the larger 'Papez circuit'.
Function
They, along with the anterior and dorsomedial nuclei in the thalamus, are involved with the processing of recognition memory.
They are believed to add the element of smell to memories.
Pathology
The mammillary bodies are parts of the brain known to be significantly damaged by untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypoxia,and associated with deficiency of thiamine. Researchers, in 2008, also noted visible abnormalities in the mammillary bodies of individuals with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.[3]
Damage to the mammillary bodies due to thiamine deficiency is implied in pathogenesis of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Symptoms include impaired memory, also called anterograde amnesia, suggesting that the mammillary bodies may be important for memory. Lesions of the medial dorsal and anterior nuclei of the thalami and lesions of the mammillary bodies are commonly involved in amnesic syndromes in humans.[4]
Additional images
 Brain |
 Human brainstem anterior view |
 Basal view of a human brain |
 Mammillary body shown in red(animation) |
References
- ^ http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/resources/vann2004.pdf Reference for the two groups of nuclei (not for the text before).
- ^ M.B. Carpenter and J. Sutin: Human Neuroanatomy (8th edition) 1983
- ^ - "The Auditory System: Anatomy and Maturation" at www.conradsimon.org
- ^ Duprez T, Serieh B, Raftopoulos C (1 January 2005). "Absence of memory dysfunction after bilateral mammillary body and mammillothalamic tract electrode implantation: preliminary experience in three patients". AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology 26 (1): 195–7; author reply 197–8. PMID 15661728. http://www.ajnr.org/cgi/content/full/26/1/195.
External links
- Vann S, Aggleton J (2004). "The mammillary bodies: two memory systems in one?". Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 5 (1): 35–44. doi:. PMID 14708002. http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/resources/vann2004.pdf.
- TheFreeDictionary.com - 'Mammillary body'
- Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 13048.000-3
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 | Mammillothalamic tract |
| Anterior nuclei of thalamus |
| Limbic lobe |
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