Download or read book The Sensory Circumventricular Organs of the Mammalian Brain written by Michael J. McKinley and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-06-06 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brain's three sensory circumventricular organs, the subfornical organ, organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis and the area postrema lack a blood brain barrier and are the only regions in the brain in which neurons are exposed to the chemical environment of the systemic circulation. Therefore they are ideally placed to monitor the changes in osmotic, ionic and hormonal composition of the blood. This book describes their - General structure and relationship to the cerebral ventricles - Regional subdivisions - Vasculature and barrier properties - Neurons, glia and ependymal cells - Receptors, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and enzymes - Neuroanatomical connections - Functions