midbrain: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	mesencephalon

Photos

Diagram of a human brain showing a median sagittal section, highlighting the fourth ventricle and cerebellum in the hindbrain, with labeled anatomical structures including the pons, medulla oblongata, and central canal of the spinal cord.

Side-by-side images showing a frog's head with its brain highlighted and a labeled diagram of the frog brain, identifying the olfactory bulb, cerebrum, optic lobe, cerebellum, and pituitary gland.

See All Images and Interactives →

Topics

crus cerebri roof plate substantia nigra oculomotor nucleus pretectal centre mesencephalic tegmentum Edinger-Westphal nucleus optic lobe red nucleus pars reticulata limbic system meninges hindbrain forebrain neuroplasticity neural oscillation Are There Really Right-Brained and Left-Brained People?cross-modal plasticity What Happened to Einstein’s Brain?Do We Really Use Only 10 Percent of Our Brain?

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

MRI Image Of Head Showing Brain

The Human Brain