Anat. [f. THALAM(O- + ENCEPHALON.] That part of the brain which develops from the posterior part of the anterior cerebral vesicle, and includes the optic thalami, optic nerves, and parts about the third ventricle. Also called diencephalon, middle brain, etc. Also anglicized Thalamencephal.
1875. Huxley, in Encycl. Brit., I. 767/1. The optic nerves are attached, as usual, to the floor of the thalamencephalon.
1875. Huxley & Martin, Elem. Biol. (1883), 185. The fore-brain, which … comprises three divisions; the thalamencephalon, the cerebral hemispheres, and the olfactory lobes.
1891. Cent. Dict., Thalamencephal.
Hence Thalamencephalic, a. Anat., of or pertaining to the thalamencephalon.
