DIENCEPHALON

1. EPITHALAMUS

habenula (habenular trigone), habenular comissure, posterior comissure

pineal gland (rudimentary endocrine glands with suppressive effect on the activity of genital glands /pubertas praecox/ contains of cerebral acervulus (calcium concrements present in adult age), fylogenetic relation to the parietal eye)

2. THALAMUS

anterior, dorsal, intralaminar, medial, median, posterior, ventral and reticular nuclei are divided according to their connections:

3. METATHALAMUS

lateral and medial geniculate bodies

4. SUBTHALAMUS

is placed below thalamus (separated with Forelīs field H1) and externaly to hypothalamus (without any apparent border)

zona incerta (its function resembles the reticular formation and conveys the motor signals /motor cortex-zona incerta-RF-medulla spinalis/)

nucleus subthalamicus (itīs involved in the circuits of basal ganglia, its interruption provokes the hemibalism and rough non-coordinated movements)

5. HYPOTHALAMUS

is derivated from the basal lamina and serves as the highest level of vegetative centre

infundibulum + hypophysis, tuber cinenereum (eminetia mediana) + corpus mamillare, area preoptica + chiasma et tractus opticus

Function: ventral hypothalamus - relation to parasympathetic part of nervous system

middle hypothalamus - relation to sympathetic part of nervous system

dorsal hypothalamus - relation to limbic system

Nuclei: area hypothalamica rostralis - nucleus paraventricularis, supraopticus, suprachiasmatis

area hypothalamica intermedia - nuclei tuberales laterales

area hypothalamica dorsalis - nuclei tuberales laterales

area hypothalamica posterior - nuclei mamillares

nucleus posterior hypothalami

Hypophysis cerebri (= pituitary gland)

- adenohypophysis (= lobus anterior) - originated from Rathkeīs evagination in the ceiling of pharynx

- it produces hormons as ACTH, TSH, FSH, LH, STH, MSH thanks to the effects of hypothalamic releasing and inhibiting factors, transported from the hypothalamic nuclei via tractus tuberoinfundibularis /= neurocrinia/

- neurohypophysis (= lobus posterior) - originated as diencephalic evagination

nuclei supraopticus and paraventricularis create hormons as ADH and oxytocin

! peculiarity of blood supply - hypophysial portal system (a. hypophysialis inf. et sup.) !