What is "metencephalon"

Metencephalon \Met`en*ceph"a*lon\, n. [Met- + encephalon.] (Anat.) The posterior part of the brain, including the medulla; the afterbrain. Sometimes abbreviated to meten.

n. (context anatomy English) the portion of the embryonic rhombencephalon from which the pons and cerebellum arise.

1. n. the part of the hindbrain that develops into the pons and the cerebellum

2. [also: metencephala (pl)]

The metencephalon is the embryonic part of the hindbrain that differentiates into the pons and the cerebellum. It contains a portion of the fourth ventricle and the trigeminal nerve (CN V), abducens nerve (CN VI), facial nerve (CN VII), and a portion of the vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII).