ENCEPHALON (encephala)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: encephala   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does encephalon mean? 

• ENCEPHALON (noun)
  The noun ENCEPHALON has 1 sense:

1. that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord

  Familiarity information: ENCEPHALON used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENCEPHALON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

That part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

brain; encephalon

Hypernyms ("encephalon" is a kind of...):

neural structure (a structure that is part of the nervous system)

Meronyms (parts of "encephalon"):

circle of Willis (a ring of arteries at the base of the brain)

arteria communicans; communicating artery (any of three arteries in the brain that make up the circle of Willis)

brain cell (a nerve cell in the brain)

neencephalon; neoencephalon (the part of the brain having the most recent phylogenetic origin; the cerebral cortex and related parts)

forebrain; prosencephalon (the anterior portion of the brain; the part of the brain that develops from the anterior part of the neural tube)

mesencephalon; midbrain (the middle portion of the brain)

hindbrain; rhombencephalon (the posterior portion of the brain including cerebellum and brainstem)

brain-stem; brain stem; brainstem (the part of the brain continuous with the spinal cord and comprising the medulla oblongata and pons and midbrain and parts of the hypothalamus)

ventricle (one of four connected cavities in the brain; is continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord and contains cerebrospinal fluid)

Holonyms ("encephalon" is a part of...):

central nervous system; CNS; systema nervosum centrale (the portion of the vertebrate nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord)

caput; head (the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains)