Medulla Oblongata: Location, Function, Injury, and Illness

Your medulla oblongata is located at the base of your brain, where the brain stem connects the brain to your spinal cord. It plays an essential role in passing ... HealthConditionsDiscoverPlanConnectShopSubscribeWhatDoestheMedullaOblongataDoandWhere’sItLocated?MedicallyreviewedbySeungguHan,M.D.—WrittenbyDanielYetman—UpdatedonDecember22,2021LocationFunctionInjuryDiseasesTakeawayWhatisthemedullaoblongata?Yourbrainonlymakesupabout2percentofyourbodyweight,butitusesmorethan20percentofyourbody’stotalenergy.Alongwithbeingthesiteofconsciousthought,yourbrainalsocontrolsmostofyourbody’sinvoluntaryactions.Ittellsyourglandswhentoreleasehormones,regulatesyourbreathing,andtellsyourhearthowfasttobeat.Yourmedullaoblongataplaysavitalroleinregulatingthoseinvoluntaryprocesses.Withoutthisvitalsectionofyourbrain,yourbodyandbrainwouldn’tbeabletocommunicatewitheachother.Inthisarticle,we’llexaminewhereyourmedullaoblongataislocatedandbreakdownitsmanyfunctions.ShareonPinterestIllustrationbyAntonioJimenezWhereisthemedullaoblongatalocated?Yourmedullaoblongatalookslikearoundedbulgeattheendofyourbrainstem,orthepartofyourbrainthatconnectswithyourspinalcord.Italsoliesinfrontofthepartofyourbraincalledthecerebellum.Yourcerebellumlookslikeatinybrainjoinedontothebackofyourbrain.Infact,itsnameliterallytranslatesto“littlebrain”fromLatin.Theholeinyourskullthatletsyourspinalcordpassthroughiscalledyourforamenmagnum.Yourmedullaoblongataislocatedataboutthesamelevelorslightlyabovethishole.Thetopofyourmedullacreatesthefloorofthefourthventricleofyourbrain.Ventriclesarecavitiesfilledwithcerebralspinalfluidthathelpprovideyourbrainwithnutrients.Whatdoesthemedullaoblongatado? Despiteitssmallsize,yourmedullaoblongatahasmanyessentialroles.It’scriticalforrelayinginformationbetweenyourspinalcordandbrain.Italsoregulatesyourcardiovascularandrespiratorysystems.Fourofyour12cranialnervesoriginateonthisregion.Yourbrainandspinecommunicatethroughcolumnsofnervefibersthatrunthroughyourmedullacalledspinaltracts.Thesetractscanbeascending(sendinginformationtowardyourbrain)ordescending(carryinginformationtoyourspinalcord).Eachofyourspinaltractscarriesaspecifictypeofinformation.Forexample,yourlateralspinothalamictractcarriesinformationrelatedtopainandtemperature.Ifpartofyourmedullabecomesdamaged,itcanleadtoaninabilitytorelayaspecifictypeofmessagebetweenyourbodyandbrain.Thetypesofinformationcarriedbythesespinaltractsinclude:painandsensationcrudetouchfinetouchproprioceptionperceptionofvibrationsperceptionofpressureconsciouscontrolofmusclesbalancemuscletoneeyefunctionYourmotorneuronscrossfromtheleftsideofyourbraintotherightsideofyourspineinyourmedulla.Ifyoudamagetheleftsideofyourmedulla,itwillleadtolossofmotorfunctionontherightsideofyourbody.Similarly,iftherightsideofthemedullaisdamaged,itwillaffecttheleftsideofyourbody.Whathappensifthemedulla oblongata isdamaged? Ifyourmedullaisdamaged,yourbrainandspinalcordwon’tbeabletoeffectivelytransmitinformationtooneanother.Damagetoyourmedullaoblongatacanleadto:breathingproblemstonguedysfunctionvomitinglossofgag,sneeze,orcoughreflexproblemsswallowinglossofmusclecontrolbalanceproblemsuncontrollablehiccupslossofsensationinyourlimbs,torso,orfaceAretherecertaindiseasesthataffectthemedullaoblongata?Varioustypesofproblemscandevelopifyourmedullabecomesdamagedbecauseofastroke,braindegeneration,orasuddenheadinjury.Thesymptomsthatarisedependontheparticularpartofyourmedullathat’sbeendamaged.Parkinson’sdiseaseParkinson’sdiseaseisaprogressivediseasethataffectsyourbrainandnervoussystem.Themajorsymptomsare:tremorsslowmovementsstiffnessinlimbsandtorsotroublebalancingTheexactcauseofParkinson’sisstillunknown,butmanyofthesymptomsareduetothedegradationofneuronsthatproduceaneurotransmittercalleddopamine.It’sthoughtthatbraindegenerationstartsatthemedullaoblongatabeforespreadingtootherpartsofthebrain.PeoplewithParkinson’sfrequentlyhavecardiovasculardysfunction,suchaschallengesregulatingtheirheartrateandbloodpressure.A2017study,conductedon52peoplewithParkinson’sdisease,establishedthefirstlinkbetweenParkinson’sandatypicalcharacteristicsofthemedulla.TheresearchersusedMRItechnologytofindatypicalstructuralcharacteristicsinpartsofthemedullarelatedtothecardiovascularproblemspeoplewithParkinson’softenexperience.WallenbergsyndromeWallenbergsyndromeisalsoknownaslateralmedullarysyndrome.Itfrequentlyresultsfromastrokenearthemedulla.CommonsymptomsofWallenbergsyndromeinclude:swallowingdifficultiesdizzinessnauseavomitingbalanceproblemsuncontrollablehiccupslossofpainandtemperaturesensationinonehalfofyourfacenumbnessononesideofyourbodyDejerinesyndromeDejerinesyndrome,ormedialmedullarysyndrome,isarareconditionthatoccursinlessthan1percentofpeoplewhohavestrokesthataffectthebackportionoftheirbrain.Symptomsinclude:weaknessofyourarmandlegontheoppositesideofthebraindamagetongueweaknessonthesamesideofthebraindamagelossofsensationontheoppositesideofthebraindamageparalysisoflimbsontheoppositesideofthebraindamageBilateralmedialmedullarysyndromeBilateralmedialmedullarysyndromeisararecomplicationfromastroke.Onlyafractionof1percentofpeoplewithstrokesintherearpartoftheirbraindevelopthiscondition.Symptomsinclude:respiratoryfailureparalysisofallfourlimbstonguedysfunctionReinholdsyndromeReinholdsyndrome,orhemimedullarysyndrome,isextremelyrare.Thereareonlyabout10peopleinmedicalliteraturethathavedevelopedthiscondition.Symptomsinclude:paralysissensorylossononesidelossofmusclecontrolononesideHorner’ssyndromesensationlossononesideofyourfacenauseadifficultyspeakingvomitingKeytakeawaysYourmedullaoblongataislocatedatthebaseofyourbrain,wherethebrainstemconnectsthebraintoyourspinalcord.Itplaysanessentialroleinpassingmessagesbetweenyourspinalcordandbrain.It’salsoessentialforregulatingyourcardiovascularandrespiratorysystems.Ifyourmedullaoblongatabecomesdamaged,itcanleadtorespiratoryfailure,paralysis,orlossofsensation.LastmedicallyreviewedonDecember13,202110sourcescollapsedHealthlinehasstrictsourcingguidelinesandreliesonpeer-reviewedstudies,academicresearchinstitutions,andmedicalassociations.Weavoidusingtertiaryreferences.Youcanlearnmoreabouthowweensureourcontentisaccurateandcurrentbyreadingoureditorialpolicy.GuptaA,etal.(2014).Bilateralmedialmedullaryinfarction:The‘heart’revealsthediagnosis.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijs.12273HainesDE,etal.(2018).Fundamentalneuroscienceforbasicandclinicalapplications.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323396325000116?via%3DihubIordanovaR,etal.(2021).Neuroanatomy,medullaoblongata.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551589/MergenthalerP,etal.(2013).Sugarforthebrain:Theroleofglucoseinphysiologicalandpathologicalbrainfunction.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166223613001306MoyleS.(2020).Understandingbraindamagelocations.ausmed.com/cpd/articles/understanding-brain-damage-locationsParkinson’sdisease:Alinkbetweenbrainstemlesionsandcardiacdisorders.(2017).icm-institute.org/en/actualite/parkinsons-disease-a-link-between-brain-stem-lesions-and-cardiac-disorders/SeidelK,etal.(2014).ThebrainstempathologiesofParkinson'sdiseaseanddementiawithLewybodies.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4397912/SiddikAB,etal.(2021).Medialmedullarysyndrome.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560590/Wallenbergsyndrome.(2017).rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/9263/wallenberg-syndromeWebbWG.(2017).Neurologyforthespeech-languagepathologist.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323100274000026?via%3DihubFEEDBACK:MedicallyreviewedbySeungguHan,M.D.—WrittenbyDanielYetman—UpdatedonDecember22,2021ReadthisnextWhatIstheCerebellumandWhatDoesItDo?MedicallyreviewedbySeungguHan,M.D.Thecerebellumislocatedatthebaseofyourskullwhereyourheadmeetsyourneck.Thefunctionofthecerebellumisprimarilyfocusedonmovement…READMOREUnderstandingBrainTumorsMedicallyreviewedbySeungguHan,M.D.Abraintumorisacollection,ormass,ofabnormalcellsinyourbrain.Learnaboutthetypes,riskfactors,symptoms,andthearrayoftreatments…READMOREBrainDisordersMedicallyreviewedbyNancyHammond,M.D.Anillness,yourgenetics,orevenatraumaticinjurycancauseabraindisorder.We’llexplainthetypes,whattheylooklike,andwhattheoutlook…READMOREOverviewofChronicTraumaticEncephalopathy(CTE)MedicallyreviewedbySeungguHan,M.D.CTEisabrainconditioncausedbyrepeatedheadinjuries.Mostconfirmedcaseshavebeeninathletes,butanybodywithrepeatedheadinjuriescan…READMOREHowDoestheBrainMakeMemories?ScientistsAreDevelopingSomeCluesResearchersstudiedpeoplewhoalreadyhaveelectrodesimplantedintheirbrainforepilepsytobetterunderstandhowthebrainformsmemoriesREADMOREResearchersScanBrainofDyingPatient:Here’sWhattheyFoundAteamofscientistsinadvertentlyrecordedthebrainwavesofan87-year-oldpatientashedied,providingthefirstglimpseatwhathappensinthe…READMORE