• 24 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Human Brain Inferior View Labeled: the Underside

Tap any part of the underside of the brain to read about it, whole first, then close up.

Human Brain Inferior View Labeled: the Underside

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Frontal lobe
  2. Temporal lobe
  3. Longitudinal fissure
  4. Olfactory bulb
  5. Olfactory tract
  6. Straight gyrus (gyrus rectus)
  7. Orbital gyri
  8. Optic nerve
  9. Optic chiasm
  10. Uncus
  11. Parahippocampal gyrus
  12. Collateral sulcus (collateral fissure)
  13. Pons
  14. Medulla oblongata
  15. Cerebellar hemisphere
  16. Flocculus
  17. Optic tract
  18. Tuber cinereum
  19. Infundibulum (pituitary stalk)
  20. Mammillary bodies
  21. Interpeduncular fossa
  22. Cerebral peduncle
  23. Pyramid
  24. Olive

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the twelve cranial nerves on this same side

All 24 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Under the cerebrum 10

  1. Frontal lobe The front lobe of each hemisphere. From below, its orbital surface shows.
  2. Temporal lobe The lobe at the side of each hemisphere. Its front end is the temporal pole.
  3. Longitudinal fissure The deep groove between the two cerebral hemispheres.
  4. Olfactory bulb The oval front end of the olfactory tract. It takes part in the sense of smell.
  5. Olfactory tract A narrow band running back from the olfactory bulb. It lies over the olfactory sulcus.
  6. Straight gyrus (gyrus rectus) The fold between the midline and the olfactory sulcus.
  7. Orbital gyri Four folds round an H-shaped groove, the orbital sulcus.
  8. Uncus The hooked front end of the parahippocampal gyrus.
  9. Parahippocampal gyrus A fold of the temporal lobe beside the midbrain. It surrounds the hippocampus.
  10. Collateral sulcus (collateral fissure) The groove along the outer side of the parahippocampal gyrus.

Along the midline 7

  1. Optic nerve The second cranial nerve, cut short here. It carries visual signals from the eye.
  2. Optic chiasm Where the two optic nerves meet and partly cross.
  3. Optic tract The band that carries on from the optic chiasm. It winds back round the midbrain's side.
  4. Tuber cinereum The swelling between the optic chiasm and the mammillary bodies. The pituitary stalk hangs from it.
  5. Infundibulum (pituitary stalk) The stalk that joins the pituitary gland to the hypothalamus. It is cut across here.
  6. Mammillary bodies Two small round swellings behind the pituitary stalk.
  7. Interpeduncular fossa The hollow between the two cerebral peduncles.

Brainstem and cerebellum 7

  1. Pons The broad middle part of the brainstem. Its fibers run from side to side.
  2. Medulla oblongata The lowest part of the brainstem. It runs down into the spinal cord.
  3. Cerebellar hemisphere One of the two side halves of the cerebellum. Narrow folds called folia cross it.
  4. Flocculus A small lobule of the cerebellum beside the pons and medulla.
  5. Cerebral peduncle One of two stalks that join the cerebrum to the brainstem.
  6. Pyramid A long ridge beside the midline of the medulla. It holds motor fibers on their way down.
  7. Olive An oval swelling of the medulla, outside the pyramid.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these. (1) Wikipedia, English edition, the article on each structure, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_bulb. (2) Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (1918), The Fore-brain or Prosencephalon, The Mid-brain or Mesencephalon and The Hind-brain or Rhombencephalon, https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/anatomy-of-the-human-body/4c-the-fore-brain-or-prosencephalon/. (3) Kenhub, Basal view of the brain, https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/basal-view-of-the-brain. (4) Neuroscience Online, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Section 2, Chapter 1, https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s2/chapter01.html. Detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The inferior view is the brain seen from below, also called its inferior aspect, basal view or ventral view. The first drawing shows the bottom of the brain, front at the top; the second enlarges the midline and brainstem.

Read the full guide

Whole brain first, then the close-up

On the whole brain, numbers 1 to 7 are the frontal and temporal lobes, the longitudinal fissure, the olfactory bulb and tract, the straight gyrus and the orbital gyri. Numbers 8 to 12 are the optic nerve, the optic chiasm, the uncus, the parahippocampal gyrus and the collateral sulcus. Numbers 13 to 16 are the pons, the medulla oblongata, a cerebellar hemisphere and the flocculus. In the close-up, 17 to 21 are the optic tract, the tuber cinereum, the infundibulum, the mammillary bodies and the interpeduncular fossa; 22 to 24 are a cerebral peduncle, a pyramid and an olive.

  • Start at the X. The optic chiasm sits on the midline; the stalk, the mammillary bodies and the pons follow it going back.
  • On the medulla the pyramid is the inner ridge and the olive is the oval outside it.

Questions and answers

What can you see in an inferior view of the brain?

The orbital surface of the frontal lobes, the underside of the temporal lobes, the olfactory bulbs and tracts, the optic chiasm, the pituitary stalk, the mammillary bodies, the front of the brainstem and the underside of the cerebellum.

Where is the olfactory bulb on a labeled brain?

Under the frontal lobe, close to the midline. It is the oval front end of the olfactory tract, a narrow band that runs back over the olfactory sulcus. The straight gyrus lies between the tract and the midline.

Why does a brain labeled upside down look so different?

From below the brainstem and cerebellum cover the back of the cerebrum, and parts hidden in a side view come to the front: the optic chiasm, the mammillary bodies, the uncus and the olfactory tracts.

What is the difference between the pyramids and the olives?

Both are swellings on the front of the medulla oblongata. The pyramids are the two long ridges beside the midline and hold motor fibers. Each olive is an oval swelling on the outer side of a pyramid.

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