ventral posterior medial nucleus of the thalamus


ventral posterior medial nucleus of the thalamus

Abbreviation: VPM
One of the two major divisions of the ventral posterior nucleus, the somatic sensory relay nucleus of the thalamus. The ventral posterior medial nucleus is the target of the trigeminal lemniscus (somatic sensory information from the face and intraoral regions), and it sends axons to the sensory areas of the cerebral cortices. See also: nucleus