Metencephalons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A part of the brain located between the forebrain and hindbrain, consisting of the pons and cerebellum
2. Referring to the developmental stage of the brain that influences motor control and sensory perception
3. Denoting a division of the brain involved in coordination and balance, connecting various neural pathways for functional integration

Etymology: "Metencephalons" is simply the plural of "metencephalon," so the real story belongs to its parts. The second element, "encephalon," comes from Greek "enkephalos," literally "in the head," built from "en" ("in") and "kephalē" ("head"), the same root that gives us "cephalic" and "hydrocephalus." The first element, "met-," comes from Greek "meta," which can mean "after" or "behind," so the name points to a structure positioned after the rest of the brain's head region in developmental order. Anatomists formed this kind of term deliberately, by joining classical Greek parts to name newly described structures. Because the name is a technical coinage built from Greek pieces, nothing in it was used by ancient Greek physicians to describe this particular region. Its meaning is fixed by the anatomical system that assigned it, not by the everyday sense of its component words.

Synonyms: hindbrain part, brainstem section