The head end of the neural plate becomes expansive even as it closes into a tube. This brain region continues to surpass the spinal cord region in size. Three enlargements are prominent: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain gives rise to two secondary expansions, the telencephalon and the diencephalon. The midbrain, which remains single, is called the mesencephalon. The hindbrain produces two secondary expansions called the metencephalon and the myelencephalon.

The telencephalon outpouches, right and left, into paired cerebral hemispheres, which overgrow and conceal much of the remainder of the brain before birth. Late in fetal life the surface of the cerebrum becomes covered with folds separated by deep grooves. The superficial gray cortex is acquired by the migration of immature nerve cells, or neuroblasts, from their primary intermediate position in the neural wall. The diencephalon is preponderantly gray substance, but its roof buds off the pineal gland, which is not nervous tissue, and its floor sprouts the stalk and neural (posterior) lobe of the pituitary. The mesencephalon largely retains its early tubular shape. The metencephalon develops dorsally into the imposing cerebellum, with hemispheres that secondarily gain convolutions clothed with a gray cortex. The myelencephalon is transitional into the simpler spinal cord. Roof regions of the telencephalon, diencephalon, and myelencephalon differentiate the vascular choroid plexuses—including portions of the pia mater, or innermost brain covering, that project into the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. The choroid plexuses secrete cerebrospinal fluid.

Spinal cord

For a time, the spinal cord portion of the neural tube tapers gradually to an ending at the tip of the spine. In the fourth month it thickens at levels where nerve plexuses, or networks, supply the upper and lower limbs; these are called the cervical and lumbosacral enlargements. At this time the spine begins to elongate faster than the spinal cord. As a result, the caudal (hind) end of the anchored cord becomes progressively stretched into a slender, nonnervous strand known as the terminal filament. Midway in the seventh month the functional spinal cord ends at a level corresponding to the midpoint of the kidneys. Both the brain and the spinal cord are covered with a fibrous covering, the dura mater, and a vascular membrane, the pia-arachnoid. These coverings differentiate from local, neighbouring mesoderm.

Spinal nerves

Spinal nerves are sensorimotor nerves with dorsal and ventral roots. A network called a brachial plexus arises in relation to each upper limb and a lumbosacral plexus in relation to each lower limb. The spine, elongating faster than the spinal cord, drags nerve roots downward, since each nerve must continue to emerge between the same two vertebrae. Because of their appearance, the obliquely coursing nerve roots are named the cauda equina, the Latin term for horse’s tail.

Cranial nerves

Cranial nerves V, VII, IX, and X arise in relation to embryonic branchial arches but have origins similar to the spinal nerves. The olfactory nerves (cranial nerve I) are unique in that their cell bodies lie in the olfactory epithelium (the surface membrane lining the upper parts of the nasal passages), each sending a nerve fibre back to the brain. The so-called optic nerves (II) are not true nerves but only tracts that connect the retina (a dislocated portion of the brain) with the brain proper. Nerves III, IV, VI, and XII are pure motor nerves that correspond to the ventral roots of spinal nerves. The acoustic nerves (VIII) are pure sensory nerves, each with a ganglion that subdivides for auditory functions and functions having to do with equilibrium and posture; they correspond to dorsal roots. Nerves X and XI are a composite of which XI is a motor component.