Mammillary body

Author: Ruvimbo Chiswo, MD • Reviewer: Declan Tempany, BSc (Hons)
Last reviewed: March 21, 2024
Reading time: 1 minute

The mammillary bodies (also spelled as 'mamillary' bodies) are a pair of small, rounded protrusions that are found in the posteroinferior part of the hypothalamus. They contribute to the posterior (a.k.a. mammillary) hypothalamic area.

There are two bodies and they are found on either side of the midline at the ends of the anterior arches of the fornix. The fornix is a part of the limbic system.

Each mammillary body consists of two groups of nuclei: the medial mammillary nuclei and the lateral mammillary nuclei. They have direct connections to the hippocampus, thalamus and tegmental nuclei. They are also part of the medial limbic circuit (Papez circuit) as they relay impulses from the hippocampal formation to the anterior thalamic nuclei via the mammillothalamic tract.

The bloody supply to the mammillary bodies is from the posteromedial central brances of posterior communicating artery.

The primary function of the mammillary body is associated with recollective memory. The other functions that the mammillary body may be involved in include emotion, reward and goal directed behaviours.

Learn more about the mammillary bodies in this study unit:

Sources

All content published on Kenhub is reviewed by medical and anatomy experts. The information we provide is grounded on academic literature and peer-reviewed research. Kenhub does not provide medical advice. You can learn more about our content creation and review standards by reading our content quality guidelines.

Moore, K.L., Agur, A.M.R., Dalley, A.F. (2015). Essential Clinical Anatomy, 5th Edition, Wolters Kluwer.

Peterson, D.C., Reddy, V. and Mayes, D.A., 2022. Neuroanatomy, mammillary bodies. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.

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Mammillary body

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