Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Tuberculum cinereum
Introduction
Overview
Overview
The tuber cinereum is a hollow eminence of gray matter situated between the mammilary bodies, behind, and the optic chiasma, in front. The tuber cinereum is part of the hypothalamus.
Structure
Structure
Laterally it is continuous with the anterior perforated substances and anteriorly with a thin lamina, the lamina terminalis.
The infundibulum, a hollow conical process, projects from the tuber cinereum. The infundibulum extends forward and down where it is attached to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland.
It houses the nuclei:
- tuberal nucleus
- tuberomamillary nucleus [1]
Tuberomamillary nucleus
The tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) is the sole source of histamine in the brain. [2]
Function
Function
Circadian rhythm
By its release of histamine, the tuberomamillary nucleus of the tuber cinereum regulates the circadian cycle.
Additional images
Additional images
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Mesal aspect of a brain sectioned in the median sagittal plane. -
The fornix and corpus callosum from below.
