CHAPTER XIII 



THE BRAIN 



229. The brain. The mind, which is the real man, and 

 which feels, thinks, and makes our bodies move, lives in 

 the brain. The brain lies in the top of the head and is 

 covered with the bones of the skull. It is a soft, white 

 mass weighing about three pounds. 



230. The medulla. The brain is made of three main 

 parts. Just above the spinal cord is a small, wedge-shaped 



part called the medulla 

 oblongata. The medulla 

 is a part of the spinal 

 cord as well as of the 

 brain. It gives off nerves 

 to the head just as the 

 spinal cord- gives them 

 to the rest of the body. 

 In it is a little bundle of 

 nerve cells which send 

 out the orders for the 

 body to breathe. When 

 these cells are hurt, breathing stops at once and the body 

 dies. So the medulla is often said to be the seat of life. 



231. The cerebellum. Above the medulla is a round 

 part of the brain called the cerebellum. It neither sends 

 orders nor feels, but in some unknown way it helps the 

 rest of the brain so that they send out better orders for 



*<*. 



Human brain cut crosswise. 



