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Glite Dictionary
lateral geniculate

lateral geniculate

9.1
A part of the brain that receives signals from the eye and sends them to the area that processes vision
  • noun
  • /ˈlætərəl ˈdʒɛnɪˌkeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : geniculado lateral
  • After leaving the lateral geniculate bodies, the information then travels along the visual pathways in the temporal and parietal lobes, ending in the occipital lobe.
  • lateral geniculate nucleus

Examples

  • Visual signals travel first to the lateral geniculate before reaching the occipital lobe for processing.

  • The P-cells project only through the lateral geniculate nucleus to the visual cortex.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Now the layout of the lateral geniculate nucleus varies quite a bit from species to species.

  • So now what we do next is that again we have the two lateral geniculate nuclei, but now these are in the thalamus.

  • The M-cells project from the retina directly to the superior colliculus and indirectly via the lateral geniculate nucleus to the visual cortex.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Other connections of the lateral geniculate go to various areas of the limbic system and other primitive areas of the brain that mainly deal with the basic reflexes and survival mechanisms of the body (Black 1991).

    Academic text (1994)

  • The lateral geniculate nucleus plays a crucial role in relaying visual information to the brain's cortex.

  • The brain's lateral geniculate consists of multiple layers that handle different types of visual input.

Synonyms

lateral geniculate body
vslateral geniculate
  • Specialized
9.9

A brain part that sends signals from the eyes to the back of the brain for vision

is primarily a relay that receives and transmits visual information
corpus geniculatum laterale
vslateral geniculate
  • Specialized
9.9

Part of the brain that sends visual signals from the eye to the visual area at the back

is the relay center that receives and transmits visual input
geniculate body
vslateral geniculate
  • Specialized
9.9

A small oval group of nerve cells under the thalamus that send signals from the senses to the brain's cortex

is specific to relaying visual information rather than multiple senses

How Visual

visual cortex
  • Specialized
4 5.7
lateral geniculate
  • Specialized
9.1
optic nerve
  • Specialized
9 3.7
pulvinar
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

lateral geniculate singular
lateral geniculates plural

Morphology

lateral + geniculate

Although 'lateral' (side) and 'geniculate' (knee-like or bent) give positional/shape information, they do not convey the specialized anatomical function of a thalamic visual relay. This is a technical, domain-specific label where the constituent meanings do not allow a B1 learner to infer that it refers to the visual relay center, so prior exposure or subject knowledge is required.

Etymology

Lateral geniculate comes from words that mean lateral 'side' and geniculate 'little knee', because this small part sits at the side of the brain and is bent like a tiny knee. It acts like a 'relay', passing signals from the eye to the visual part of the brain, so the name matches its job.