midbrain

The midbrain is the middle division of the three primary divisions of the developing chordate brain or the corresponding part of the adult brain (in vertebrates, includes a ventral part containing the cerebral peduncles and a dorsal tectum containing the corpora quadrigemina and that surrounds the aqueduct of Sylvius connecting the third and fourth ventricles)[GO]. Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.

What the midbrain is

The midbrain is the middle division of the three primary divisions of the developing chordate brain or the corresponding part of the adult brain (in vertebrates, includes a ventral part containing the cerebral peduncles and a dorsal tectum containing the corpora quadrigemina and that surrounds the aqueduct of Sylvius connecting the third and fourth ventricles)[GO]. The atlas records it as a nerve at the organ scale in the human body.

Where the midbrain is

It sits within the nervous system. Positioned deliberately as part of this species body plan.

What the midbrain connects to

The atlas records 45 typed relationships for it, across 7 kinds of connection. part of brain.

Supply and innervation

Arterial supply: mesencephalic artery.

Also called

Also recorded as MB and mesencephalon. Searching any of those names reaches this page.

Source

Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0001891, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

• Part of: brain.
• A kind of: anatomical structure and regional part of brain.
• contains: accessory nucleus of optic tract, anterior median oculomotor nucleus, caudal central oculomotor nucleus, central gray substance of midbrain, central oculomotor nucleus and cerebral peduncle, and 28 more.
• overlaps: collection of basal ganglia, habenulo-interpeduncular tract and pretectal region.
• contributes to morphology of: brain and substantia nigra.
• Develops from: future brain and neuroectoderm.
• Supplied by: mesencephalic artery.

Questions

Where is the midbrain?

It sits within the nervous system. Positioned deliberately as part of this species body plan.

What does the midbrain connect to?

Part of: brain.

Is the midbrain 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.