What is "fornix"

Fornix \For"nix\, n.; pl. Fornices. [L., an arch.] (Anat.)

1. An arch or fold; as, the fornix, or vault, of the cranium; the fornix, or reflection, of the conjuctiva.

2. Esp., two longitudinal bands of white nervous tissue beneath the lateral ventricles of the brain.

from 1680s in reference to various arched formations (especially in anatomy), from Latin fornix "arch, vaulted chamber, cellar, vaulted opening" (see fornication).

n. 1 (context anatomy English) An archlike structure or fold. 2 (context anatomy English) Specifically, the arched bundle of fibres or axons at the base of the brain.

1. n. generally any arch shaped structure (but often it refers to the arched roof of an anatomical space)

2. an arched bundle of white fibers at the base of the brain by which the hippocampus of each hemisphere projects to the contralateral hippocampus and to the thalamus and mamillary bodies [syn: trigonum cerebrale]

3. [also: fornices (pl)]

The fornix is a C-shaped bundle of nerve fibers in the brain that carries signals from the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies and then to the anterior nuclei of thalamus. The fornix is part of the limbic system. While its exact function and importance in the physiology of the brain is still not entirely clear, it has been demonstrated in humans that surgical transection – the cutting of the fornix along its body – can cause memory loss. There is some debate over what type of memory is affected by this damage, but it has been found to most closely correlate with recall memory rather than recognition memory. This means that damage to the fornix can cause difficulty in recalling long-term information such as details of past events, but it has little effect on the ability to recognize objects or familiar situations.

Fornix (plural fornices, Latin for " arch") can refer to:

• Fornix or throat scale, a bowed prolongation of the corolla in Boraginaceae ( cf.)
• Fornix of the brain
• Fornix conjunctiva, a part of the Conjunctiva
• Fornix vaginae, also called the vaginal fornix
• An early type of Roman triumphal arch