Medulla Oblongata

Definition

The medulla oblongata is located in the lower half of the brainstem. It controls autonomic functions such as heartbeat, blood pressure, respiration, swallowing, vomiting etc.

Analogy

Imagine if you had to manually control every single beat of your heart or breath you take - exhausting right? Thankfully we have our medulla oblongata which acts like an automatic pilot on an airplane taking care of all these essential tasks without us even having to think about them!

Related terms

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): This system controls involuntary actions (like those controlled by Medulla Oblongata). ANS is like backstage crew at a theater show making sure everything runs smoothly without the audience (you) noticing.

Pons: As mentioned earlier, this part of your brainstem acts as a bridge connecting different parts of the brain and plays a role in controlling breathing.

Hypothalamus: This is like the control center for ANS. It's responsible for maintaining your body's internal balance or homeostasis.