Midbrain - Corpora Quadrigemina

Corpora Quadrigemina

The corpora quadrigemina ("quadruplet bodies") are four solid lobes on the dorsal side of the cerebral aqueduct, where the superior posterior pair are called the superior colliculi and the inferior posterior pair are called the inferior colliculi. The four solid lobes help to decussate several fibres of the optic nerve. However some fibers also show ipsilateral arrangement (i.e. they run parallel on the same side without decussating.) The superior colliculus is involved with saccadic eye movements; while the inferior is a synapsing point for sound information. The trochlear nerve comes out of the posterior surface of the midbrain, below the inferior colliculus.