Part of the brainstem that in humans and mammals, lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. Given that it is in between the midbrain and the medulla, it can be seen as the "bridge" between them. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Varolius"), after the Italian anatomist and surgeon Costanzo Varolio (1543–75).