superior colliculus
Part of the midbrain tecturm consisting of paired bodies that sit caudal to the thalamus and surround the pineal gland in the mesencephalon of vertebrate brains. It comprises the rostral aspect of the midbrain, posterior to the periaqueductal gray and adjacent superior the inferior colliculus. The inferior and superior colliculi are known collectively as the corpora quadrigemina (Latin, quadruplet bodies). It consists of several identified cellular layers and also comprises the brachium of the superior colliculus and commissure of supeior colliculus from Wikipedia.org and Neuronames (MM). Every claim on this page comes from the Leumas anatomy graph and carries its source.
What the superior colliculus is
Part of the midbrain tecturm consisting of paired bodies that sit caudal to the thalamus and surround the pineal gland in the mesencephalon of vertebrate brains. It comprises the rostral aspect of the midbrain, posterior to the periaqueductal gray and adjacent superior the inferior colliculus. The inferior and superior colliculi are known collectively as the corpora quadrigemina (Latin, quadruplet bodies). It consists of several identified cellular layers and also comprises the brachium of the superior colliculus and commissure of supeior colliculus from Wikipedia.org and Neuronames (MM). The atlas records it as a nerve at the organ scale in the human body.
Where the superior 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 superior colliculus connects to
The atlas records 17 typed relationships for it, across 3 kinds of connection. part of corpora quadrigemina, material anatomical entity and midbrain tectum, and 1 more.
Supply and innervation
This dataset asserts no arterial supply, venous drainage or innervation for the superior 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 anterior colliculus, anterior corpus quadrigeminum, cranial colliculus, optic tectum, colliculus bigeminalis oralis and colliculus cranialis, and 14 more. Searching any of those names reaches this page.
Source
Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology (Mungall et al.), CC BY 4.0. Term UBERON:0001945, version 2026-06-19, retrieved 2026-08-24. Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
- Part of: corpora quadrigemina, material anatomical entity, midbrain tectum and nervous system.
- A kind of: anatomical structure, organ system subdivision and regional part of brain.
- contains: commissure of superior colliculus, deep gray layer of superior colliculus, deep white layer of superior colliculus, gray matter layer of superior colliculus, middle gray layer of superior colliculus and middle white layer of superior colliculus, and 4 more.
Questions
Where is the superior 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 superior colliculus connect to?
Part of: corpora quadrigemina, material anatomical entity, midbrain tectum and nervous system.
Is the superior 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.