The hindmost or rear part of the brain; a dated anatomical term for brain structures at the back of the skull.
Compound of 'after' and 'brain' (Old English brægen). Used primarily in older anatomical texts before modern neurological terminology (like 'hindbrain,' 'cerebellum,' 'medulla') became standardized in the 19th century.
Early anatomists divided the brain into 'forebrain,' 'midbrain,' and 'afterbrain' because they noticed it developed in segments—we now know this still happens in embryos! Modern neuroscience kept this basic three-part structure even while discovering the brain is vastly more complex.
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