Anatomy word of the month: hippocampus

The “sea horse” is a structure buried deep within each hemisphere of the brain. This term is more descriptive of the imagination of anatomists rather than its function. In a cross section of the cerebral hemisphere the hippocampus looks something like its namesake. The hippocampus is important in short-term memory formation. Patients who have damage to this area lose the ability to retain new information but usually retain old memories.

Hippocampus_and_seahorse_cropped

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