Mammillary Body
Corpora mamillaria is the Latin pronunciation for the Mammillary Bodies (Mamillary bodies). They are a pair of small round bodies under the brain that with part of Diencephalon (Interbrain) forms Limbic System. They are situated at the end of Anterior Arches of Fornix (C-shaped bundles of axons). They have two groups of nuclei i.e. Medial Mammillary Nuclei and Lateral Mammillary Nuclei.
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Spinal Cord Temporal Lobe SacralThoracic Axon Axon TerminalsDendrite Myelin Sheath Nucleus Pulposus Gray Matter
Spinal Nerve White Matter Corpus CallosumFrontal LobeHypothalamus Occipital Lobe Parietal Lobe Thalamus Cervical Vertebrae Brain Neuron
Mammillary Body
CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER BRAIN REGIONS
These bodies are also connected with other brain parts and act as a passage for impulses coming from Amygdala (almond shaped group of nuclei in the temporal lobes of brain) and Hippocampus (major part of human brain).
This circuit of relaying impulses from Amygdala to Mammillary bodies and then to Thalamus is part of the circuit called Papez Circuit.
FUNCTION
Mammillary bodies and their projections to the anterior of Thalamus through the Mammillothalamic Tract play a key role in Recollection of Memory. Medial Mammillary Nucleus is responsible for the Spatial Memory (memory about one’s environment). This memory is found deficient in rats having Mammillary Lesions (Damages).
CLINICAL PATHOLOGY
Damage due to the Thiamine (water soluble vitamin B complex) deficiency leads to pathogenesis of Mammillary bodies Known as Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (Wet Brain). Symptoms of this pathology include memory loss also known to be Anterograde Amnesia. This phenomenon suggests that Mammillary bodies play a key role in memory. Mammillary bodies are also related to some other diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, and Heart failure etc. despite all this the exact function of Mammillary bodies is still not clear.
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