hypothalamus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Noun
hypothalamus (plural hypothalami or hypothalamuses)
- (neuroanatomy) A region of the forebrain located below the thalamus, forming the basal portion of the diencephalon, and functioning to regulate body temperature, some metabolic processes and governing the autonomic nervous system.
- ✤ To avoid catastrophe, the brain has its trusty control centre, the hypothalamus, which tells the body to cool itself by sweating or to warm itself by shivering.1
Etymology
From hypo- + thalamus.
Pronunciation
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
Printed 2026-06-28.
(echo:: @ ⌗)
Footnotes
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2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 217: ↩