PONS

n. (pl. pontes) Anat. (in full pons Varolii) the part of the brain stem that links the medulla oblongata and the thalamus. øpons asinorum any difficult proposition, orig. a rule of geometry from Euclid ('bridge of asses'). [L, = bridge: Varolii f. C. Varoli, It. anatomist d. 1575]