The Brain

The cephalic end of the neural tube shows three dilations, the primary brain
vesicles:
1.The prosencephalon, or forebrain;
2. The mesencephalon,or midbrain;
3. The rhombencephalon, or hindbrain.
When the embryo is 5 weeks old, the prosencephalon consists of two
parts:
the telencephalon, formed by a midportion and two lateral
outpocketing the primitive cerebral hemispheres,
The diencephalon, characterized by outgrowth of the optic vesicles.
The rhombencephalon also consists of two parts:
1) The metencephalon, which later forms the pons and cerebellum,
2) The myelencephalon.
The boundary between these two portions is marked by the pontine
flexure.
The lumen of the spinal cord, the central canal, is continuous with
that of the brain vesicles.
 Simultaneously it forms two flexures:
A. The cervical flexure at the junction of the hindbrain and the spinal cord.
B. The cephalic flexure in the midbrain region.
C. A deep furrow, the rhombencephalic isthmus, separates the
mesencephalon from the rhombencephalon.

The cavity of the rhombencephalon is the fourth ventricle,

that of the diencephalon is the third ventricle,
and those of the cerebral hemispheres are the lateral
ventricles.
The lumen of the mesencephalon connects the third and fourth
ventricles.
This lumen becomes very narrow and is then known as the aqueduct
of Sylvius. The lateral ventricles communicate with the third
ventricle through the interventricular foramina of Monro.
Distinct basal and alar plates, representing
motor and sensory areas, respectively, are
found on each side of the midline in the
rhombencephalon and mesencephalon.
In the prosencephalon, however, the alar
plates are accentuated and the basal plates
regress.
RHOMBENCEPHALON
HINDBRAIN

The rhombencephalon consists of the
Myelencephalon, the most caudal of the
brain vesicles, and the metencephalon, which
extends from the pontine flexure to the
rhombencephalic isthmus.
MYLENCEPHALON
The myelencephalon is a brain vesicle that gives rise to the
medulla oblongata.
It differs from the spinal cord in that its lateral walls are
everted.
Alar and basal plates separated by the sulcus limitans can be
clearly distinguished.
The basal plate, similar to that of the spinal cord, contains
motor nuclei.
These nuclei are divided into three groups:
1.Medial somatic efferent group,
2.Intermediate special visceral efferent group.
3.Lateral general visceral efferent group .
 The first group contains motor neurons, which form
the cephalic continuation of the anterior horn
cells.
Since this somatic efferent group continues
rostrally into the mesencephalon, it is called the
somatic efferent motor column. In the
myelencephalon it includes neurons of the
hypoglossal nerve that supply the tongue
musculature. In the metencephalon and the
mesencephalon, the column contains neurons of the
abducens , trochlear, and oculomotor nerves,
respectively. These nerves supply the eye
musculature.
 The special visceral efferent group extends into the
metencephalon, forming the special visceral efferent motor
column.

Its motor neurons supply striated muscles of the

pharyngeal arches.

In the myelencephalon the column is represented by neurons

of the accessory, vagus, and glossopharyngeal nerves.

The general visceral efferent group contains motor neurons

that supply involuntary musculature of the respiratory
tract, intestinal tract, and heart.
The alar plate contains three groups of sensory relay nuclei.
1. The most lateral of these, the somatic afferent (sensory)
group, receives impulses from the ear and surface of the head
by way of the vestibulocochlear and trigeminal nerves.
2. The intermediate, or special visceral afferent, group
receives impulses from taste buds of the tongue and from the
palate, oropharynx, and epiglottis.
3. The medial, or general visceral afferent group receives
interoceptive information from the gastrointestinal tract and
heart
 The roof plate of the myelencephalon consists of a
single layer of ependymal cells covered by vascular
mesenchyme, the pia mater.
The two combined are known as the tela choroidea.
Because of active proliferation of the vascular
mesenchyme, a number of saclike invaginations
project into the underlying ventricular cavity. These
tuftlike invaginations form the choroid plexus,
which produces cerebrospinal fluid.
METENCEPHALON
The metencephalon, similar to the
myelencephalon, is characterized by basal and
alar plates.
Two new components form:
1. The cerebellum,
2. The pons,
Each basal plate of the metencephalon
contains three groups of motor neurons:
1) The medial somatic efferent group, which
gives rise to the nucleus of the abducens
nerve;
2. The special visceral efferent group, containing nuclei
of the trigeminal and facial nerves, which innervate
the musculature of the first and second pharyngeal
arches;
3. The general visceral efferent group, whose axons
supply the submandibular and sublingual glands.
 The marginal layer of the basal plates of the metencephalon expands
as it makes a bridge for nerve fibers connecting the cerebral cortex with
the spinal cord.
This portion of the metencephalon is known as the pons (bridge).
IN ADDITION TO NERVE FIBERS,
the pons contains the pontine nuclei, which originate in the alar
plates of the metencephalon and myelencephalon.

The alar plates of the metencephalon contain three groups of

sensory nuclei:
I. Lateral somatic afferent group, which contains neurons of the
trigeminal nerve and a small portion of the vestibulocochlear
complex,
II. The special visceral afferent group,
III.The general visceral afferent group.
CEREBULLUM
The dorsolateral parts of the alar plates bend medially and form the
rhombic lips.
In the caudal portion of the metencephalon, the rhombic lips
are widely separated, but immediately below the mesencephalon
they approach each other in the midline.
As a result of a further deepening of the pontine flexure, the rhombic
lips compress cephalocaudally and form the cerebellar plate.
In a 12-week embryo, this plate shows a small midline portion,
the vermis, and two lateral portions, the hemispheres.
A transverse fissure soon separates the nodule from the vermis
and the lateral flocculus from the hemispheres.
This flocculonodular lobe is phylogenetically the most primitive
part of the cerebellum.
 Initially, the cerebellar plate consists of
neuroepithelial, mantle, and marginal layers.
During further development, a number of cells
formed by the neuroepithelium (Purkinje cells) migrate
to the surface of the cerebellum to form the external
granular layer. Cells of this layer retain their
ability to divide and form a proliferative zone on the
surface of the cerebellum.
In the sixth month of development, the external granular layer gives
rise to various cell types. These cells migrate toward the differentiating
Purkinje cells and give rise to granule cells. Basket and stellate cells
are produced by proliferating cells in the cerebellar white matter.
 MESENCEPHALON: MIDBRAIN
In the mesencephalon, each basal plate contains two groups of motor
nuclei:
1. Medial somatic efferent group, represented by the oculomotor
and trochlear nerves, which innervate the eye musculature,
2. Small general visceral efferent group, represented by the
nucleus of Edinger- Westphal, which innervates the sphincter
pupillary muscle.
The marginal layer of each basal plate enlarges and forms the crus
cerebri.
These crura serve as pathways for nerve fibers descending from the
cerebral cortex to lower centers in the pons and spinal cord.
Initially the alar plates of the mesencephalon appear as two longitudinal
elevations separated by a shallow midline depression
With further development, a transverse groove divides each elevation into
an anterior (superior) and a posterior (inferior) colliculus.
 The posterior colliculi serve as synaptic relay stations for
auditory reflexes;
the anterior colliculi function as correlation and reflex centers for
visual impulses.
The colliculi are formed by waves of neuroblasts migrating into the
overlying marginal zone.
 PROSENCEPHALON:
FOREBRAIN
The prosencephalon consists of the
1.Telencephalon, which forms the
cerebral hemispheres,
2.Diencephalon, which forms the
optic cup and stalk, pituitary,
thalamus, hypothalamus, and
epiphysis.
 The diencephalon, the posterior portion of the forebrain, consists of
a thin roof plate and a thick alar plate in which the thalamus and
hypothalamus develop.
It participates in formation of the pituitary gland, which also
develops from Rathkes pouch. Rathkes pouch forms the
adenohypophysis, the intermediate lobe, and pars tuberalis, and the
diencephalon forms the posterior lobe, the neurohypophysis, which
contains neuroglia and receives nerve fibers from the hypothalamus.
A. cephalic part of a 6-week embryo showing Rathkes pouch as dorsal outpocketing of
the oral cavity and the infundibulum as a thickening in the floor of the diencephalon.
Telenceph
alon
The telencephalon, the most rostral of the brain vesicles,
consists of two lateral outpocketings, the cerebral hemispheres,
and a median portion, the lamina terminalis
The lamina terminalis is used by the commissures ( fiber
bundles) as a connection pathway for fiber bundles between the
right and left hemispheres . The cerebral hemispheres, originally
two small outpocketings , expand and cover the lateral aspect of
the diencephalon, mesencephalon, and metencephalon .
Eventually, nuclear regions of the telencephalon come in close
contact with those of the diencephalon.