Thal·a·mus n.; pl. Thalami
  1. Anat. A mass of nervous matter on either side of the third ventricle of the brain; -- called also optic thalamus.
  2. Bot. (a) Same as Thallus. (b) The receptacle of a flower; a torus.
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  thalamus
       n : large egg-shaped structures of gray matter that form the
           dorsal subdivision of the diencephalon
       [also: thalami (pl)]