Anatomy and function
The brainstem comprises the midbrain, pons and medulla. It forms an important passage between the brain and spinal cord; its nuclei and circuits contribute to basic functions including breathing and arousal.
Where to look in the model
The whole-brainstem fsaverage aseg segmentation, label 16, lies below the diencephalon and in front of the cerebellum.
What this view does not establish
The template segmentation does not separately label the midbrain, pons or medulla. Cranial nerve nuclei and long tracts are not shown.
Open in 3DSources and precision
Cortex uses the FreeSurfer fsaverage5 template surface, with 10,242 vertices per hemisphere. Functional references use selected Destrieux sulcal and gyral parcels. Deep structures use fsaverage aseg segmentations. The Sereno2020 cerebellar research surface preserves folial geometry, but comes from another specimen; its assembled placement is schematic, without medical registration across templates. Arterial paths are manually drawn teaching schematics, not CTA/MRA reconstructions.
An educational schematic prototype for understanding spatial relationships. Item-by-item independent neuroanatomical review is pending. Functional highlights are not results of an individual examination and do not support individual diagnosis or treatment decisions.