Inside the Brain

The Nervous System and the Brain

The brain acts as the control center for a communication network called nervous system, is an incredible computer, weighing mere three pounds. The nervous system has just 2 function: first, getting information (impulses, signals, messages) from outside or inside the body to whre it can be acted upon, usually in the brain; and secondly, feeding back information ( e.g. to the muscles) so that the indicated action can be taken. Within the skull the appearance of the brain is like a cauliflorwer and a walnut. Brain tissue - a pinkish gray and white - is among the most delicate in our body, and the annihilation of even a small part of it may mean lasting impairment or death. Protection of the brain is vital and starts (if we are so lucky) with a mat of hair on the top, back, and sides of our skull.Comes next is resilient layer of padding called the scalp, and then the main line of defense - the rounded, bony helmet of skull. The brain's armor are not mere bone only, beneath are three strongm fibrous membranes called meninges that encase the brain in protective envelopes.Meninges overlies the tissue of the spinal cord; inflammation or infection of these membranes br viruses or bacteira is called cerebro-spinal meningitis. Between two of the meninges is a region laced with veins and arteries filled with cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid-filled space cushions the brain against sudden blows and collisions. Also it does not only circulates to the brain but through the entire central nervous system.

The brain is the most powerful organ/part of our body.Cerebrum, Cerebellum, and Brainstem are the parts of the brain.

3 parts of the brain:

1. Cerebrum an enlarged anterior or upper part of the brain; especially : the expanded anterior portion of the brain that in higher mammals overliesthe rest of the brain, consists of cerebral hemispheres and connecting structures, and is considered to be the seat of conscious mental processes. The cerebrum permits all distinctly human activities - thinking, speaking, reading, writing.The surface of it is wrinkled, furrowed, folded and infolded, convoluted, fissured - anything but smooth.

2. Cerebellum a large dorsally projecting part of the brain concerned especially with the coordination of muscles and the maintenance of bodily equilibrium, situated between the brain stem and the back of the cerebrum and formed in humans of two lateral lobes and a median lobe.

3. Brainstem the part of the brain composed of the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata and connecting the spinal cord with the forebrain and cerebrum.

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