homunculus
/həˈmʌŋkjələs/
noun
- A very small human or human-like creature, especially in myths, stories, or old scientific ideas.
- In medieval legends, alchemists claimed they could create a homunculus in a flask.
- The fantasy novel featured a tiny homunculus who served as the wizard's assistant.
- Some old drawings show a homunculus inside the head to explain how the mind works.
- A representation of the human body in which body parts are drawn in proportion to how much brain area controls them, used in neuroscience.
- Students in biology class studied the sensory homunculus to learn about the brain's map of the body.
- The cortical homunculus shows a huge hand and lips because those areas have many nerve connections.
- The motor homunculus illustrates which parts of the brain control different muscles.