Fig. 4.Detail from the fresco, “Creation of Adam,” by Michelangelo Buonarroti, visible on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican at Rome, Italy, painted between 1508-1512. (A) Photograph of the fresco showing God giving spiritual life and intellect to Adam through his touch; (B) The contour of the same image is reminiscent of a midline saggital section of the brain and includes the hypothalamus, pituitary and brainstem. (From Toni R, Malaguti A, Benfenati F, Martini L: The human hypothalamus: a morphofunctional perspective. J Endocrinol Invest 27 (supp to n.6), 73-94, 2004.)