The brain: an Introduction

 The brain is one of the most sophisticated and intricate organs of your body. The way everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, you think, you smell, you hear, you see is all processed and presented to your being, in a way you can understand and bring out an appropriate response is simply amazing. The centre of all senses, the soft mass of tissues and nerves that make you understand things if you will, is of 3 main parts.

• Cerebrum
• Cerebellum
• Medulla oblongata

The cerebrum is the main part of your brain where signals from different organs of sense such as taste, sight, sound, touch and smell are delivered to. The cerebrum has 4 lobes called Frontal which is your forehead area, Parietal which is behind that, Occipital which is at the back of your head and Temporal which is just above your ears that carry out different functions but all of them contribute to process information and make sense of it to you. 

The cerebellum is the smaller mass of soft tissue and nerves at the back of your head under your cerebrum and it is an essential part of your brain as well. It is the reason you can stand and walk as a balanced person and use your muscles as part of your voluntary (done by you) movements. It also plays a role in posture and equilibrium.

The medulla oblongata is part of the brain stem that connects your cerebrum to the spinal cord which runs down under your medulla oblongata. The brain stem consists of the midbrain, pons and the medulla oblongata. It is the part of your brain that regulates your breathing, your heart beat rate, eye movements and actions like swallowing and coughing. 

The brain is definitely one of the most vital organs in your body, and evolution realising this has given it some protective measures such as a skull which is tough as a coconut some people claim. Another protective measure are meninges which are of 3 layers between your brain and your skull. There's also ventricles in your brain which are sort of hollow spaces and these 4 ventricles in your brain are filled with a fluid called the cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid is one of the most vital components in the function of your brain as it protects your brain and circulates and provides nutrients. It also aids in waste removal.

Last but not least lets talk about the spinal cord. It runs down your body and it naturally has 4 curves. There are also 4 types of vertebrae that make up this spinal cord. The ones at and above your neck are the cervical vertebrae. There are 7 that begin at your occipital lobe and run down your body. 12 thoracic vertebrae continue afterwards which also pair up with your ribcage. The Lumbar vertebrae are the strongest and the ones that carry the most weight of your body. There are 5 after the thoracic vertebrae. The final 2 parts are fused vertebrae called the sacrum and coccyx. The sacrum is made of 5 fused vertebrae and it attaches to the 5th lumbar vertebrae. The coccyx or the vestigial tail is made up of 4 fused vertebrae and join at the end of the sacrum. These vertebrae helps you stand upright and maintain good posture so long as you don't screw it up too much hunched over a computer.

That is the basic anatomy of the brain and the spinal cord. Next I hope to learn the nerves and the types that run through different areas of the brain and the body leading to certain actions and decisions.