brain-stem

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

brain-stem - the part of the brain continuous with the spinal cord and comprising the medulla oblongata and pons and midbrain and parts of the hypothalamusbrain stem, brainstemneural structure - a structure that is part of the nervous systembrain, encephalon - that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cordmedulla oblongata, medulla, bulb - lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal cord; (`bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata); "the medulla oblongata is the most vital part of the brain because it contains centers controlling breathing and heart functioning"pons Varolii, pons - a band of nerve fibers linking the medulla oblongata and the cerebellum with the midbrainreticular formation, RF - a complex neural network in the central core of the brainstem; monitors the state of the body and functions in such processes as arousal and sleep and attention and muscle tone