corpus callosum

noun

corpus cal·​lo·​sum -ka-ˈlō-səm 

-kə-

plural corpora callosa -ka-ˈlō-sə 

-kə-

: the great band of commissural fibers uniting the cerebral hemispheres of higher mammals including humans see brain illustration

Examples of corpus callosum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The impulse is so ingrained that when patients have their corpus callosum severed, making communication between the two hemispheres of the brain impossible, the left hemisphere simply invents plausible explanations to account for inputs to the right side of the brain that the left side hasn’t seen. —Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024

This reduction was evident in a region called corpus callosum, which connects the right and left brain hemispheres. —Ignacio Amigo, Discover Magazine, 4 Nov. 2022

On the other hand, Maguire has long doubted that mutations in such important genes, used in nearly all cells, could cause defects only in the corpus callosum, and only in speech. —Amber Dance Knowable Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Sep. 2020

The corpus callosum is a part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres—the right side of the brain communicates with the left side of the body and the left side of the brain communicates with the right side of the body through the corpus callosum. —Milo F. Bryant, Men's Health, 29 June 2022

Called the corpus callosum, this highway is what enables the two halves of the brain to communicate with each other. —Kate Golembiewski, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2022

In the early- to mid-20th century, some physicians attempted to control seizures in their severely epileptic patients by surgically severing the corpus callosum — and thus disrupting the electric impulses traveling from one hemisphere to the other. —Kate Golembiewski, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2022

When analyzing the images, neurologists saw key changes in neural connections between several motor areas in the brain and an altered corpus callosum due to fluid shifts in the brain, Space.com reports. —Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Feb. 2022

Whatever the cause, imaging studies show that the brains of kids with DCD are markedly different from those of typically developing children, with evidence of alterations in motor and sensory regions and the corpus callosum, the thinking side of the brain that helps plan and execute motor tasks. —Washington Post, 29 July 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, literally, "tough body"

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

corpus callosum

noun

corpus cal·​lo·​sum

-ka-ˈlō-səm, -kə-

plural corpora callosa -sə 

: the great band of commissural fibers uniting the cerebral hemispheres