If you're ever asked about a part of the human body that you've never heard of, and what part of the body it's in, your best bet is to answer "the brain". That's unless it's Bowman's capsule or the Loop of Henle, which are in the kidney. Or the Islets of Langerhans, which are in the pancreas.
The medulla oblongata is the part of the brain that's responsible for involuntary functions such as vomiting and sneezing.
The pineal gland produces melatonin, the hormone that controls sleep patterns. It's so called because it's shaped like a pine cone. The French philosopher and scientist René Descartes believed that it was the the "principal seat of the soul".
The limbic system is the name given to a collection of structures that support functions such as emotion, behaviour, motivation, long-term memory, and the sense of smell.
The Circle of Willis is a system that connects the various arteries that supply blood to the brain.
The Fissure of Sylvius is an alternative name for the lateral sulcus, which separates the frontal and parietal lobes (above) from the temporal lobe (below). A sulcus (pronounced sulkus) is a furrow, groove or fissure, especially one on the surface of the brain.
The Betz cells are the largest cells in the central nervous system. They're a type of neuron, named after the Ukrainian scientist who described them in 1874.
The Island of Reil is another name for the insular cortex, which is part of the cerebral cortex (the outermost layer of the brain). It's named after Johann Christian Reil, a German physician who lived from 1759 to 1813. Wikipedia notes, rather curtly, that "Henry Gray in Gray's Anatomy is responsible for [the insular cortex] being known as the Island of Reil."
© Haydn Thompson 2017