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Did you know there’s a part of your brain called “the slime gland”?

The blogger Neuroskeptic has created some awesome diagrams explaining the literal meaning behind the names of different parts of the brain. So the "pineal gland" literally means "pine cone gland":

Brain parts by Neuroskeptic

Go to Neuroskeptic's blog over at Discover for more of these awesome diagrams! (Neuroskeptic)

The names sound ridiculous. But that's probably because many brain parts were named before we really had a good idea of what they actually did. So the namers didn't have much to go on.

Check out Neuroskeptic's new post from November 10 for even more brain parts, including a discussion of a brain area whose name translates to "the unimportant thing."

A different blogger, Dr. Charles, has done a similar project for the human body:

Anatomy body etymology

(The Examination Room of Dr. Charles)

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