central gray substance

1. in general, the predominantly small-celled gray matter adjoining or surrounding the central canal of the spinal cord and the third and fourth ventricles of the brainstem;
2. in particular, the thick sleeve of gray matter surrounding the cerebral sylvian aqueduct in the midbrain, rostrally continuous with the posterior nucleus of the hypothalamus; in sections stained for myelin it stands out from the adjoining tectum and tegmentum by the paucity of its myelinated fibers.

Synonym(s): substantia grisea centralisTA, periaqueductal gray substance

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