Anatomy study note · Head and neck

Hypothalamus

The lower part of the lateral wall and floor of the third ventricle (ventral diencephalon). It controls the autonomic nervous system and the pituitary gland.

Key points

• Floor/lower wall of the third ventricle.
• Optic chiasma → tuber cinereum + infundibulum → mammillary bodies.
• Controls the ANS and the pituitary.
• Supraoptic (ADH) + paraventricular (oxytocin) → pars nervosa.
• Releasing hormones → portal system → anterior pituitary.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Features · Histology · Development

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 12, PDF pp. 1564–1565, 1809; ch. 1, PDF p. 79
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 17, PDF pp. 336–338
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 13, PDF pp. 233, 238

More from the head and neck

• Inferior oblique
• Inferior rectus
• Insula
• Internal capsule
• Internal carotid artery
• Internal jugular vein
• Iris
• Lacrimal apparatus
• Laryngeal membranes and ligaments
• Larynx
• Lateral cricoarytenoid
• Lateral pterygoid

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