Where it is
In the cranial cavity, protected by the neurocranium.
- Layer
- Organs
- System
- Nervous system
- Region
- Head
What it is and what it does
The brain lies in the cranial cavity, behind the orbits, protected by the bones of the neurocranium; together with the spinal cord it forms the central nervous system, while the cranial and spinal nerves form the peripheral system. According to UMN, the hemispheres have frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes, with the rhinencephalon underneath: the olfactory bulb, tract and piriform lobe. In the drawing it is schematic; the path of scent is in “Journey of a Scent”.
Worth remembering
The olfactory bulb, cerebellum, brainstem and hypophysis can be selected separately; the scent areas are on the brain drawing in “Journey of a Scent”.
Names
- Latin term: encephalon.
- In Romanian: Creierul (Romanian page).
In the atlas lessons
Journey of a scent (5 min).
The brain and scent: where the trail ends up (7 min):
In the “Organs” layer, zoom in on the head: the brain, with the olfactory bulb at the tip, the cerebellum and the brainstem at the back, the pituitary underneath. The drawing is schematic.
From the bulb, the lateral stria leads to the piriform lobe (“what smell is it”), from where the signal goes to the amygdala (value), to the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus (memory) and to the frontal cortex (decision). Steps 13–19 of “Journey of a scent” show them on the drawing of the brain.