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Medical Definition of Nucleus vestibularis
1. One of a group of four main nuclei that includes: the lateral vestibular nucleus (Deiters' nucleus), medial vestibular nucleus (Schwalbe's nucleus), superior vestibular nucleus (Bechterew's nucleus), and inferior vestibular nucleus, located in the lateral region of the hindbrain beneath the floor of the rhomboid fossa. They receive primary fibres of the vestibular nerve, are reciprocally connected with the flocculonodular lobe of the cerebellum, and project by way of the medial longitudinal fasciculus to the abducens, trochlear, and oculomotor nuclei and to the ventral horn of the spinal cord. The lateral vestibular nucleus projects to the ipsilateral ventral horn of the spinal cord by the vestibulospinal tract. Synonym: nucleus vestibularis. (05 Mar 2000)