Overview of Anatomy and Physiology

Region of nervous system most involved in maintaining homeostasis Only 0.5% of volume of human brain Regulates release of pituitary hormones (primary link between CNS and endocrine) Functions in regulating ANS Developmentally part of diencephalon (Preoptic area telencephalon) Most ventral aspect of diencephalon

Wall and floor of inferior 3rd ventricle Beneath hypothalamic sulcus Ventral limits: anteriorly = chiasm, laterally = optic tracts, posteriorly = mammillary bodies Median eminence = floor of 3rd ventricle Infundibulum = protrusion of hypothalamus Neurohypophysis

Hypothalamic Nuclei: Periventricular, Medial, Lateral Medial Area further divided:

Preoptic Anterior (Supraoptic) Middle (Tuberal) Posterior (Mammillary)

Relations: fornix, mammillo-thalamic tract, IC, midbrain Lateral Preoptic Nucleus medium sized cells Lateral Hypothalamic nucleus extends lateral and ventral to mammillary body Lateral Tuberal Nuclei

Periventricular: surrounds walls of 3rd, small cells, poorly differentiated Medial Preoptic: lateral to
periventricular, extends ventral to chiasm, telencephelon, gonadotropic hormone regulation, sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area

Anterior (supraoptic): Anterior nucleus Supraoptic nucleus: Oxytocin/Vasopressin Paraventricular Nucleus: Oxytocin/Vasopressin Suprachiasmatic

Middle (Tuberal) Region: Arcuate nucleus: most ventral part of 3rd vent Ventromedial Nucleus: Largest in this region Dorsomedial Nucleus: Less distinct group

Posterior (mammillary) Mammillary nucleus Medial Intermediate Lateral Posterior Nucleus

MFB: two-way communication b/w hypothalamus, septal nuclei, and other cortical structures Hippocampohypothalamic Fibers: from HC formation, form the fornix and the medial corticohypothalamic tract Retinohypothalamic Fibers: suprachiasmatic Hypophysial Tracts

Adenohypophysis/Neurohypophysis Supraopticohypophysial Tract: Axonal projections from supraoptic and paraventricular to neurohypophysis Tuberohypophysial Tract: arises from tuberal region (mainly arcuate) and travels only to median eminence. More appropriately labeled tuberoinfundibular tract.

C3 Supraoptic: Vasopressin C4 Paraventricular: Oxytocin

C11 preoptic: (LH) C12 suprachiasmatic: (TSH) C13 ventral hypothalamus: (LH/FSH) D6 = VMN D7 = DMN D8 = Arcuate

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