The fastigial nucleus or nucleus fastigii refers specifically to the concentration of gray matter nearest to the middle line at the anterior end of the superior vermis, and immediately over the roof of the fourth ventricle, from which it is separated by a thin layer of white matter. It is smaller than the nucleus dentatus, but somewhat larger than the nucleus emboliformis and nucleus globosus, the other two independent centers of gray matter in the cerebellum. The fastigial nucleus is the smallest in size, with the dentate being the largest and the interposed being intermediate in size. Although it is one dense mass, it is made up of two sections: the rostral fastigial nucleus and the caudal fastigial nucleus.
Read more about Fastigial Nucleus: Relations, Rostal Fastigial Nucleus, Caudal Fastigial Nucleus
Famous quotes containing the word nucleus:
“I could not undertake to form a nucleus of an institution for the development of infant minds, where none already existed. It would be too cruel.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)