The Hypothalamus reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Hypothalamus

In the anatomy of mammals, the hypothalamus is a region of the brain located below the thalamus, forming the major portion of the ventral region of the diencephalon and functioning to regulate certain metabolic processes and other autonomic activities. The hypothalamus links the nervous system to the endocrine system by producing releasing hormones.

In particular, the hypothalamus is the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst.

Hypothalamic nuclei

Region	Medial Area	Lateral Area
Anterior	Medial preoptic nucleus Supraoptic nucleus Paraventricular nucleus Anterior nucleus Suprachiasmatic nucleus	Lateral preoptic nucleus Lateral nucleus Part of supraoptic nucleus
Tuberal	Dorsomedial nucleus Ventromedial nucleus Arcuate nucleus	Lateral nucleus Lateral tuberal nuclei
Posterior	mammillary bodies) Posterior nucleus	Lateral nucleus

See also: limbic system, HPA axis

Endocrine system

Adrenal gland - Corpus luteum - Hypothalamus - Ovaries - Pancreas - Parathyroid gland - Pineal gland - Pituitary gland - Testes - Thyroid gland

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