A small rounded hill-like eminence, particularly the superior and inferior colliculi in the midbrain of the brain, involved in vision and hearing.
From Latin 'colliculus,' diminutive of 'collis' (hill). Used in anatomy since the 16th century to name brain structures that anatomists observed had elevated, rounded shapes.
The superior colliculus in your brain is literally named 'the little upper hill'—it's where visual information gets processed, proving that metaphor can survive centuries in scientific nomenclature.
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