hippocampus

[ hip-uh-kam-puh s ]

/ ˌhɪp əˈkæm pəs /

noun, plural hip·po·cam·pi [hip-uh-kam-pahy, -pee] /ˌhɪp əˈkæm paɪ, -pi/.

Classical Mythology. a sea horse with two forefeet, and a body ending in the tail of a dolphin or fish.

Anatomy. an enfolding of cerebral cortex into the lateral fissure of a cerebral hemisphere, having the shape in cross section of a sea horse.

Origin of hippocampus

1600–10; < Latin < Greek hippókampos, equivalent to hippo- hippo- + kámpos sea monster

Words nearby hippocampus

hippo-, hippocampal, hippocampal fissure, hippocampal gyrus, hippocampal sulcus, hippocampus, hippocras, hippocrates, hippocratic facies, hippocratic finger, hippocratic nail

Example sentences from the Web for hippocampus

Cortisol is bad for your brain, particularly the hippocampus, which encodes memories.

The Science Behind Rick Perry’s Debate Brain Freeze |Sharon Begley |November 10, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
In depressed people, for instance, the hippocampus tends to be smaller than in healthy people.

How Sad Moms Change a Child’s Brain |Sharon Begley |August 22, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Until now, most research on the brain changes caused by stress has focused on the hippocampus, which processes memories.

How Sad Moms Change a Child’s Brain |Sharon Begley |August 22, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Eventually it ends in the substance of the hippocampus and in the uncus of the temporal lobe.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 |Various

The first on the right has two figures of Nereids traversing the sea, one on a sea-bull the other on a hippocampus.

Museum of Antiquity |L. W. Yaggy
The little seahorse (Syngnathus hippocampus) is commonly found here.

The History of Sumatra |William Marsden
The hippocampus, which is otherwise known as the “sea-horse,” affords another interesting example of aquatic locomotion.

Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions Including Trick Photography |Albert A. Hopkins
There are two denizens of the deep which bear the name of sea-horse—one the tiny Hippocampus, the other the mighty walrus.

Fictitious & Symbolic Creatures in Art |John Vinycomb

British Dictionary definitions for hippocampus

hippocampus

/ (ˌhɪpəʊˈkæmpəs) /

noun plural -pi (-paɪ)

a mythological sea creature with the forelegs of a horse and the tail of a fish

any marine teleost fish of the genus Hippocampus, having a horselike head See sea horse

an area of cerebral cortex that forms a ridge in the floor of the lateral ventricle of the brain, which in cross section has the shape of a sea horse. It functions as part of the limbic system

Derived forms of hippocampus

hippocampal, adjective

Word Origin for hippocampus

C16: from Latin, from Greek hippos horse + kampos a sea monster

Medical definitions for hippocampus

hippocampus

[ hĭp′ə-kăm′pəs ]

n. pl. hip•po•cam•pi (-pī′)

The complex, internally convoluted structure that forms the medial margin of the cortical mantle of the cerebral hemisphere, borders the choroid fissure of the lateral ventricle, is composed of two gyri with their white matter, and forms part of the limbic system.

Other words from hippocampus

hip′po•cam′pal (-pəl) adj.

Scientific definitions for hippocampus

hippocampus

[ hĭp′ə-kăm′pəs ]

Plural hippocampi (hĭp′ə-kăm′pī′)

A convoluted, seahorse-shaped structure in the cerebral cortex of the temporal lobe of the brain, composed of two gyri with white matter above gray matter. It forms part of the limbic system and is involved in the processing of emotions and memory.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

hippocampus

noun, plural hip·po·cam·pi [hip-uh-kam-pahy, -pee] /ˌhɪp əˈkæm paɪ, -pi/.

Origin of hippocampus

Words nearby hippocampus

Example sentences from the Web for hippocampus