thalamus

Term: thalamus

Literally meaning: “inner room”

Origin: Anc Greek

θάλαμος/thalamos(=chamber, inner room )

Coined/History

by Greek phycisian Galen of Pergamon (130–200 AD in De Usu Partium  (Utility of the Parts of the Bode) by way of comparing the human brain with the ground plan of a Greek house, with the bridal chamber at its heart, emphasizing the central role of thalamus.

Definition

Thalamus is a paired lobed and symmetrical structure of grey matter in the center (midline) of the vertebrates brain. Thalamus is a regulator in sensory function by distributing incoming sensory information to appropriate regions of the cortex.