Meta thalamus & Subthalamus of the human brain




Meta thalamus
The meta thalamus consists of the medial and lateral geniculate bodies, which are situated  on each side of the midbrain, below the thalamus.
Medial geniculate body :
It is an oval elevation situated just below the pulvinar of the thalamus and lateral to the superior colliculus. The inferior brachium connects the medial geniculate body to the inferior colliculus.
The connections of the medial geniculate body are as follows.
1.      Afferents :
v  Lateral lemniscus
v  Fibres from both inferior colliculi.
2.      Efferents :-
     It gives rise to the acoustic radiation going to the auditory area of the cortex through the sublentiform part of the internal capsule.
Lateral geniculate body :
 This is a small oval elevation situated anterolateral to the medial geniculate body, below the thalamus.
It is overlapped by the medial part of the temporal  lobe, and is connected to the superior colliculus by the superior brachium. Its connections are as follows.
Afferents :-
The lateral geniculate body receives fibres  concerned with vision, from both eyes ,through the optic tract.
Efferents : -
 Fibres arising in the lateral geniculate body from the optic radiation.
This radiation passes through the retrolentiform part of the internal capsule, to reach the visual area of the cerebral cortex.




SUBTHALAMUS :
The subthalamus lies between the midbrain and the thalamus, medial to the internal capsule and the globus pallidus. It consists of the following:
A.     Grey matter :
1.      The cranial ends of the red nucleus and substantia nigra extend into it.
2.      Subthalamic nucleus
3.      Zona incerta.
B.     White matter :
1.      Cranial ends of lemnisci  lateral to the red nucleus;
2.      Dentatothalamic tract along with the rubrothalamic fibres;
3.      Ansa lenticularis
4.      Fasciculus lenticularis
5.      Subthalamic fasciculus.
The subthalamic nucleus is biconvex and is situated dorsolateral to the red nucleus and ventral to the zona incerta.
The zona incerta is a thin lamina of grey matter situated between the thalamus and the subthalamus

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