inferior colliculus

Part of the midbrain tectum, consisting of paired predominantly gray matter elevations on the dorsal aspect of the midbrain, located caudal to the superior colliculus, dorsal to the periaqueductal gray of the cerebral aqueduct and rostral to the cerebellum. According to Neuronames, the inferior colliculus comprises the central, pericentral and external nucleus and two predominantly white matter structures, the brachium of the inferior colliculus and the commissure of the inferior colliculus (MM). Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the inferior colliculus is

Part of the midbrain tectum, consisting of paired predominantly gray matter elevations on the dorsal aspect of the midbrain, located caudal to the superior colliculus, dorsal to the periaqueductal gray of the cerebral aqueduct and rostral to the cerebellum. According to Neuronames, the inferior colliculus comprises the central, pericentral and external nucleus and two predominantly white matter structures, the brachium of the inferior colliculus and the commissure of the inferior colliculus (MM). The atlas records it as a nerve at the organ scale in the human body.

Where the inferior colliculus is

It sits within the nervous system. Not positioned individually. Drawn inside the structure this dataset says contains it — the containment is asserted, the exact spot within it is not.

What the inferior colliculus connects to

The atlas records 10 typed relationships for it, across 3 kinds of connection. part of corpora quadrigemina, material anatomical entity and midbrain tectum.

Supply and innervation

This dataset asserts no arterial supply, venous drainage or innervation for the inferior colliculus. Only a minority of structures carry those edges here, so an empty answer means nothing has been recorded — not that there is nothing to record.

Also called

Also recorded as caudal colliculus, inferior colliculi, posterior colliculus, posterior corpus quadrigeminum, colliculus caudalis and colliculus inferior, and 3 more. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0001946, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

• Part of: corpora quadrigemina, material anatomical entity and midbrain tectum.
• A kind of: anatomical structure and regional part of brain.
• contains: brachium of inferior colliculus, central nucleus of inferior colliculus, commissure of inferior colliculus, external nucleus of inferior colliculus and pericentral nucleus of inferior colliculus.

Questions

Where is the inferior colliculus?

It sits within the nervous system. Not positioned individually. Drawn inside the structure this dataset says contains it — the containment is asserted, the exact spot within it is not.

What does the inferior colliculus connect to?

Part of: corpora quadrigemina, material anatomical entity and midbrain tectum.

Is the inferior colliculus the same in other species?

Leumas holds the same relationship vocabulary for every species it carries, so where another dataset records this structure you can put the two side by side on /compare.