cerebrum

cerebrum /cer·e·brum/ (ser´ĕ-brum) (sĕ-re´brum) the main portion of the brain, occupying the upper part of the cranial cavity; its two hemispheres, united by the corpus callosum, form the largest part of the central nervous system in humans. The term is sometimes applied to the postembryonic forebrain and midbrain together or to the entire brain.

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cer·e·brum (sr-brm, s-r-)

n. pl. cer·e·brums or cer·e·bra (-br)

The largest portion of the brain, including practically all the parts within the skull except the medulla, pons, and cerebellum and now usually referring only to the parts derived from the telencephalon and including mainly the cerebral hemispheres that are joined at the bottom by the corpus callosum. It controls and integrates motor, sensory, and higher mental functions, such as thought, reason, emotion, and memory.

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cerebrum

[ser′əbrəm, sərē′brəm] pl. cerebrums, cerebra

Etymology: L, brain

the largest and uppermost section of the brain, divided by a longitudinal fissure into the left and right cerebral hemispheres. At the bottom of the groove, the hemispheres are connected by the corpus callosum. The internal structures of the hemispheres merge with those of the diencephalon and further communicate with the brainstem through the cerebral peduncles. The surface of the cerebrum is called gyri. Each lobe bears the name of the bone under which it lies. The cerebrum performs sensory functions, motor functions, and less easily defined integration functions associated with various mental activities. It generates a variety of electrical waves that may be recorded as an electroencephalogram to localize areas of brain dysfunction, to identify altered states of consciousness, or to establish brain death. See also cerebral cortex, cerebral hemisphere. cerebral, adj.

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cerebrum (ser´brum, srē´brum),

n the largest portion of the brain. Operating at the highest functional level and occupying the upper part of the cranium, it consists of two hemispheres united at the bottom by commissures of large bundles of nerve fibers. As with all parts of the nervous system, each part of it has highly specific functions (e.g., a specific outer cortical area controls voluntary mastication, whereas certain inner subcortical areas are involved in involuntary jaw posture).

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cerebrum

the main portion of the brain, occupying the front part of the cranial cavity; its two cerebral hemispheres are united by the corpus callosum. The term is sometimes applied to the postembryonic forebrain and midbrain together or to the entire brain. See also brain.

Four major lobes of the cerebrum. By permission from Cunningham JG, Textbook of Veterinary Physiology, Saunders, 2002