Fourth ventricle
Ventriculus quartus
- Related terms: Fourth venticle
Definition
The fourth ventricle, or cavity of the hind-brain, is situated in front of the cerebellum and behind the pons and upper half of the medulla oblongata. Developmentally considered, the fourth ventricle consists of three parts: a superior belonging to the isthmus rhombencephali, an intermediate, to the metencephalon, and an inferior, to the myelencephalon. It is lined by ciliated epithelium, and is continuous below with the central canal of the medulla oblongata; it communicates, by means of a passage termed the cerebral aqueduct, with the cavity of the third ventricle. It presents four angles, and possesses a roof or dorsal wall, a floor or ventral wall, and lateral boundaries.
References
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
