Bone and Dissection Video Transcript

This is a transcript of the video on the Student Features page.

In this video I'd like to examine the brainstem and a few different views.

Let's start with the ventral surface where we can see all three parts of the brainstem. This is the midbrain.

The pons and the medulla oblongata also known as the medulla.

Let's look into the transverse fissure which is in between the cerebrum and cerebellum.

These four bumps make up the dorsal surfaces of the midbrain.

This area is called the corpora quadrigemina.

The corpora quadrigemina is made up of the two superior colliculi which are visual reflex centers.

And the two inferior colliculi that relay auditory information to the sensory cortex and are involved in reflexive responses to sound.

Lastly, let's take a look at the brain stem in a midsagittal section. Here is the transverse fissure and just anterior to the transverse fissure is the superior portion of the brainstem, a region called the midbrain.

We can see a superior colliculus. Here is the cerebral aqueduct which is contained within the midbrain.

Here is a cerebral peduncle which means little foot of the cerebrum.

Inferior to the midbrain is pons.

The pons contains two-way conduction tracts connecting higher brain centers to the spinal cord.

Here is the medulla which is the most inferior part of the brainstem.

This region regulates basic life functions such as heart rate and respiration.

The medulla is continuous with the spinal cord.