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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Medulla oblongata

Medulla \Me*dul"la\, n. [L.]

  1. Marrow; pith; hence, essence. [Obs.]
    --Milton.

  2. (Anat.) The marrow of bones; the deep or inner portion of an organ or part; as, the medulla, or medullary substance, of the kidney; specifically, the medula oblongata.

  3. (Bot.) A soft tissue, occupying the center of the stem or branch of a plant; pith.

  4. See medulla oblongata.

    Medulla oblongata. [L., oblong medulla] (Anat.), the posterior part of the brain connected with the spinal cord. It includes all the hindbrain except the cerebellum and pons, and from it a large part of the cranial nerves arise. It controls very largely respiration, circulation, swallowing, and other functions, and is the most vital part of the brain; -- called also bulb of the spinal cord. See Brain.

Wiktionary
medulla oblongata

n. (context neuroanatomy English) The lower portion of the brainstem.

WordNet
medulla oblongata

n. lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal cord; (`bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata); "the medulla oblongata is the most vital part of the brain because it contains centers controlling breathing and heart functioning" [syn: medulla, bulb]

Wikipedia
Medulla oblongata

The medulla oblongata (or medulla) is located in the hindbrain, anterior to the cerebellum. The medulla oblongata is a cone-shaped neuronal mass responsible for multiple autonomic (involuntary) functions ranging from vomiting to sneezing. The medulla contains the cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers and therefore deals with the autonomic functions of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.

The bulb is an archaic term for the medulla oblongata and in modern clinical usage the word bulbar (as in bulbar palsy) is retained for terms that relate to the medulla oblongata, particularly in reference to medical conditions. The word bulbar can refer to the nerves and tracts connected to the medulla, and also by association to those muscles innervated, such as those of the tongue, pharynx and larynx.

Medulla Oblongata (film)

Medulla Oblongata is a Malayalam movie produced by S. Madhan and directed by Suresh Nair. It is a remake of Tamil film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom. The remake stars Rahul Madhav and newcomer Avaana.

Usage examples of "medulla oblongata".

The cranial nerves can simply be numbered one to twelve in Roman numerals (as they often are) according to the point of junction with the brain, beginning at the cerebrum and ending at the bottom of the medulla oblongata.

His flesh continues to crawl, yes, and cold bony fingers are still playing along the stem of his medulla oblongata, and unhappy intestinal maneuvers seem distressingly close to occurring.

An obvious case of spacio-psychological mispositioning of the medulla oblongata, leaving him with no option but to conquer the world.

I don't know just what happened, except I was reading a couple of nears ago that scientists had located the machinery that controls the replacement of tissue in the medulla oblongata.

One guy, breathless and staggering toward the door, claimed that she had tongued his medulla oblongata and stimulated visions of being choked in Death's dark closet -- which Mavis took as a compliment.

You implant it subcutaneously in the region of the medulla oblongata.