medulla oblongata
Vital reflex center
The medulla oblongata is the lowest part of the brainstem, connecting the brain to the spinal cord.
It controls vital involuntary functions—breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing, and vomiting.
Damage to the medulla is typically fatal.
In casual speech, people sometimes invoke it humorously as impressive-sounding anatomy: I'm gonna kick you in the medulla oblongata.
Lower neural trunk
- hindbrainRear brain division
- ponsBrainstem relay station
- midbrainMiddle brain division
- cerebellumMovement coordination organ
spinal cord · cranial nerves · pyramids · nuclei · ventricle · dorsal · ventral · inferior
Self-regulating without awareness
- involuntaryNot under conscious control
- heart rateCardiac contractions per minute
- blood pressureCirculatory force measurement
- breathingPulmonary gas exchange
swallowing · coughing · sneezing · vomiting · gagging · vasomotor · homeostasis · reflex
Signal-transmitting brain cells
- axonNeuron's signal-sending projection
- synapseNerve signal crossing point
- afferentConveying toward central point
- efferentConveying outward from center
neural pathway · neurotransmitter · action potential · myelin · glia · astrocytes · central nervous system · neuroanatomy
Sudden brain blood blockage
- hemorrhageProfuse discharge of blood
- lesionArea of pathological change
- infarctionTissue necrosis from ischemia
- compressionForcing into smaller space
herniation · apnea · dysphagia · locked-in syndrome · brain death · trauma · tumor · demyelination
brainstem
Lower neural trunk
cerebellum · spinal cord · cranial nerves · pyramids · nuclei · ventricle · dorsal · ventral · inferior · fourth ventricle
autonomic
Self-regulating without awareness
- involuntaryNot under conscious control
- heart rateCardiac contractions per minute
- blood pressureCirculatory force measurement
breathing · swallowing · coughing · sneezing · vomiting · gagging · vasomotor · homeostasis · reflex · chemoreceptor
neurons
Signal-transmitting brain cells
- axonNeuron's signal-sending projection
- synapseNerve signal crossing point
- afferentConveying toward central point
efferent · neural pathway · neurotransmitter · action potential · myelin · glia · astrocytes · central nervous system · neuroanatomy · neurophysiology
stroke
Sudden brain blood blockage
- hemorrhageProfuse discharge of blood
- lesionArea of pathological change
- infarctionTissue necrosis from ischemia
compression · herniation · apnea · dysphagia · locked-in syndrome · brain death · trauma · tumor · demyelination
- breathingbreathing, inhalation, breath, exhalation, breathe
- brainstembrainstem, brain stem, pons, midbrain, fourth ventricle
- hindbrainpons, cerebellum, fourth ventricle, vestibular nuclei
- craniocervical junctiondens, cruciate ligament, occiput
medulla oblongatacerebral cortex
Brain's outer neural sheet
prefrontal cortex · neocortex · cerebrum · frontal lobe · forebrain