The hindbrain (rhombencephalon) is the lowest and rearmost of the brain’s three main divisions: the pons and the medulla oblongata, which form the lower brainstem, and the cerebellum behind them. All three are lit together. [1][2]
The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The text below still says where the hindbrain is and what it does.
All 3 are lit together, on both sides where they are paired; tap a name in the list to focus one. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap any part to name it; .
The fourth ventricle, the hindbrain’s fluid-filled cavity between the pons and medulla in front and the cerebellum behind, is drawn on the model but left dark here, because it is a space rather than brain tissue; it is lit on its own page. [1][3][4]
Not lit: the cranial nerve nuclei of nerves V to XII, which lie inside the pons and medulla. They are part of the hindbrain, but none is a separate shape in this 3D model, so they are shown only by the lit pons and medulla around them and no marker is placed at a guessed position. [1][4]
Part of: the three divisions of the brain, each lit on its own page: the forebrain, the midbrain and the hindbrain (this page). The hindbrain is the rear and lowest division, below and behind the midbrain; the forebrain lies in front of and above both. [1][7]
Where it is
It is the rearmost and lowest of the three divisions, below the midbrain: the pons and medulla oblongata make up the lower brainstem, and the cerebellum sits behind them. [1][5]
Its cavity is the fourth ventricle: both of its embryological parts, the metencephalon and the myelencephalon, hold a portion of it. [1]
What it does
Together its parts support vital bodily processes: the medulla holds the breathing and heart-rate centres, the pons connects the cerebellum with the brainstem, and the cerebellum coordinates movement. [1][6]
Most cranial nerve nuclei lie in it: those of nerves V to VIII in the metencephalon, and IX to XII with part of VIII in the myelencephalon. [1]
Other names
Rhombencephalon, “rhombus-shaped brain”, is its embryological name; OpenStax notes it can simply be called the hindbrain. [1][2]
Metencephalon: the pons and the cerebellum, grown from rhombomeres 1 to 3. [1][2]
Myelencephalon: the medulla oblongata, grown from rhombomeres 4 to 8. [1][2]
Size
On this model the hindbrain together fit in a box about 85 mm front to back, 76 mm top to bottom and 106 mm side to side (the box they fit in, not their volume). [4]
Centre of the cerebellum compared with the centre of the pons: 36 mm further back, 5 mm lower; 37 mm apart in a straight line. [4]
Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); real brains vary in size and shape, so its measurements describe one model, not anyone’s brain.