PROJECT WORK

OF BIOLOGY
CLASS :XII
PRESENTED BY:
KUSHAL JOSHI
 HUMAN BRAIN
The brain is the highly specialized delicate organ weighting about 1.2 to 1.4 kg. It is protected
externally by a bony brain case or cranium. It is composed of some soft nervous tissues covered
by three layers known as the meninges. The meninges are:

i. Duramater : It is an outermost covering just below the bony covering of the skull. It is
formed of dense, tough and the highly vascular white fibrous tissues. It supports the brain
and the spinal cord.

ii. Arachnoid : Delicate, thin and fibrous, it is the middle covering of the brain. It is separated
from duramater by the subdural cavity.
Fig :Brain
iii. Piamater : It is a thin, delicate and highly vascular innermost layer. It is closely adheres tomeninges
the surface of the brain and the spinal cord. It is separated from arachnoid membrane by a
subarachnoid space which is filled with a spongy connective tissue and cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF).
The space between the duramatar and the arachnoid is called subdural space. Similarly, the
space between the arachnoid and the Piamater is subarachnoid space. This space is filled with
Cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF)

CSF is secreted from the anterior and the posterior choroid plexus. It performs the following
functions:
 This fluid acts as a cushion and shock absorber.
 It provides a medium for exchange of food materials, wastes, respiratory gases and other
materials through the blood vessel laying within the CSF.
 It keeps the brain and the spinal cord moist.
 It maintains a uniform pressure of the blood inside the cranium.
 It makes the brain weightless
 Structure of human
brain
A human brain is divided into three parts:
 Fore-brain (Prosencephalon)
 Mid-brain (Mesocephalon)
 Hind-brain (Rhombencephalon)

Fig : Structure of human brain

 Fore-brain
(Prosencephalon)
The fore-brain is greatly developed and distinguished into three parts:
a) Olfactory lobes
b) Cerebrum
c) Diencephalon

A. Olfactory lobes
Olfactory lobes are the anterior parts of the forebrain. They consists of a pair of short club-shaped structures. Each
lobe consists of two parts:
i. Anterior part : olfactory bulb
ii. Posterior part : olfactory tract
Both parts are fully covered by the cerebral hemisphere. It is visible only in the ventral view of the brain. A pair of the
olfactory nerves arise from the olfactory lobes. It consist of a cavity known as rhinocoel or 1st ventricle. The olfactory
lobes are poorly developed in human beings.
B.Cerebrum
Cerebrum is the largest and the most complex part of the brain. It is divided by a longitudinal fissure into the right and
the left cerebral hemispheres. Both cerebral hemispheres are joined together internally by bord, curved, thick band of
the nerve fibres called corpus callosum. Its anterior folded part is called genu and the posterior curved part called
splenium. Both the parts are joined by a fornix.
The outer part of the cerebrum is known as the cerebral cortex. It is formed of the matter of the brain. The cerebral
cortex has numerous fold-like convolutions that greatly increase the surface area. The elevations of these convolutions
are called gyri (singular gyrus) and the depressions between them are called sulci (singular sulcus).

Lobes of cerebrum : Each cerebral hemisphere is divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital
lobes by the various sulci:

i. Central sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe.
ii. Lateral sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the temporal lobe.
iii. Parieto-occipital sulcus separates the parietal lobe from the occipital lobe.
Areas of cerebrum : The cerebral cortex has many controlling areas for the various kinds of activities. These areas are
motor area (movement), sensory area (heat, cold, pain, touch, light, and pressure), auditory area (hearing), visual area
The two cerebral hemispheres receive information from the opposite
sides of the body. The right hemisphere receives impulses from the left
side and the left hemisphere receives impulses from the right side.

Ventricle : Each cerebral hemisphere has a cavity called lateral

ventricle. This cavity is filled with the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF)

Function :
 It is the main center that governs all the mental and the conscious
activities (such as intelligence, memory, reason, will, feelings and
emotions).
 It is the site for the interpretation of sensation and origin of the
voluntary acts.
 It also acts as a control center for many reflex actions that
originate involuntarily (weeping, laughing, micturition,
defecations, etc.)
Fig :Various areas in the
C. Diencephalon
Diencephalon is the part that lies just below the corpus callosum and just above the mid brain. It has three parts : epithalamus,
thalamus and hypothalamus.

i. Epithalamus : It is a thin and non-nervous part. Its anterior part is highly vascular and folded to form the anterior
choroid plexus which secretes CSF. Just behind the anterior choroid plexus there is a short stalk called pineal stalk which
has a rounded body at its tip called pineal body. It is an endocrine in function that secretes a hormone called melatonin.

ii. Thalamus : It is the part which consists of optic chiasma formed by the crossing of the optic nerves coming from the eyes.
It is a sensory relay station.

iii. Hypothalamus : It consists of a hypophysis (pituitary gland) attached by a stalk called infundibulum. The pituitary gland
is an endocrine gland that secretes the hormones. Behind the infundibulum, there is a pair of small rounded nipple-like
bodies called mammillary bodies containing mammillary nuclei. These mammillary nuclei of the hypothalamus serve as
relay centers for the olfactory fibers that are concerned with the olfactory reflexes.

Ventricle : The ventricle is diencephalon is the third ventricle situated just behind the lateral ventricle of the cerebrum. It is
connected with each lateral ventricle by a separate foramen of Monro.

Function : Diencephalon serves as a relay center for the sensory and the motor impulses from the spinal cord and the brain
stem to various parts of cerebrum.
 It regulates emotions, pleasure, fear and perceptions of heat, cold and pain.
 Mid-brain
(Mesocephalon)
Mid brain is the part which basically connects the fore-brain and hind-brain. It has two
parts :

a) Corpora quadrigemina : There are two pairs of round lobes called corpora
quadrigemina.
 1st pair is called superior colliculi (concerned with vision).
 2nd pair is called inferior colliculi (concerned with hearing).

Function : The superior colliculi receive the sensory impulses from eyes, concerned with
vision. The inferior colliculi receive the sensory impulses from the ear, concerned with
hearing.
Fig : parts of brain
b) Crura cerebri (cerebral peduncles) : These are the two bundles of fibers which
lie on the lower surface of the mid-brain.

Function : The crura cerebri act for relaying impulses back and forth between the
 Hind-brain
(Rhombencephalon)
It consist of three parts : cerebellum, pons varolii and medulla oblongata.

a) Cerebellum : Also called little brain, the cerebellum is the second largest part of the brain. It lies at the
posterior region of the brain. The cerebellum is divided partially into three lobes :
i. Two lateral lobes called cerebellar hemispheres are made up to grey matter.
ii. One central part like worm called vermis is made up of white matter.
The outer cerebellar cortex is greatly folded to form sulci. Internally, the cerebellar hemisphere has a branching
tree like white matter, called arbor vitae surrounded by a sheath of grey matter.

Ventricle : Its cavity of the cerebellum is known as fourth ventricle communicating with third ventricle through
aqueduct of Sylvius.

Functions :
 It co-ordinates muscular body movement, equilibrium and controls the posture
 It controls reflex action of the skeletal muscle activities.
b) Pons varolii (pons bridge) : It is the characteristics feature of the mammalian brain. It is situated in front
of the cerebellum and above the medulla oblongata. Its fiber connect the two halves of the cerebellum and
join the medulla oblongata with the mid-brain like a bridge. Its fiber is of white matter. It is known as middle
cerebellar peduncle or brochium point (for regulating breathing).

Function : Pons varolii relays impulses from the medulla oblongata to the superior part of brain.
c) Medulla oblongata : It lies between the pons varolii and spinal cord. It consists of white matter. It is
continuous with the spinal cord. It has very thin, non-vascular folded structure to its lower side called
posterior choroid plexus (from CSF). Fibers of all afferent and efferent tracts, running between the brain and
the spinal cord are present in the medulla.

Function :
 The medulla oblongata is the center for the vital activities such as cardiac, respiratory and vasomotor.
 It controls complex activities such as heart action, respiration, sneezing, coughing, etc.
 Brain stem
The mid-brain, the pons and the medulla oblongata collectively form the brain stem. It
connects the forebrain with the spinal cord. It is continuous with the spinal cord. It
contains all the sensory and the motor pathways entering and leaving the hemisphere. It
also contains the nuclei of all the cranial nerves except that of 1 st and 2nd cranial nerves
which arise from the cerebrum. Death is declared clinically when there is cessation in
the function of the brain stem.

Ventricles of human brain

The ventricles are the cavities within the brain filled with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
It secreted by the anterior and the posterior choroid plexuses. Four types of the
ventricles found in the brain are :
i. Right and left lateral ventricles
ii. Third ventricle (Dioecoel)
Fig : Brain ventricles
iii. Fourth ventricles (Metacoel)
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i. Right and left lateral ventricles : These cavities lie within the cerebral hemispheres, one on each side of the
median plane just below the corpus callosum. They communicate with the third ventricle by a narrow canal
called foramen of Monro.

ii. Third ventricles : It is a cavity situated below the lateral ventricles between the two parts of the thalamus. It
communicates with the fourth ventricle by a narrow canal called cerebral aqueduct or lter.

iii. Fourth ventricle : This ventricle is a lozenge-shaped cavity situated below and behind the third ventricle
between the cerebellum and the pons varolii. It lies below the central canal of the spinal cord.

Cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF)

CSF is a lymph-like extra cellular fluid. It is slightly alkaline clear fluid. It consists of water, mineral
salts, glucose and a small amount of albumin, globulin and few traces of urea and creatinine.
CSF is secreted by the anterior and the posterior choroid plexus in the ventricles of the brain, the central
canal of the spinal cord and by the subarachnoid space around the brain and the spinal cord. The total
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volume of CSF is 150ml. The rate of formation is 20ml/hour. CSF can be obtained by the lumbar
puncture.
Functions of CSF
 It supports and protects the brain and the spinal cord from the external injuries.
 It maintains a uniform pressure around these delicate structures.
 It acts as a cushion and as a shock absorber between the brain and the cranium.
 It keeps the brain and the spinal cord moist and there may be exchange of substance between the CSF and the
nerve cells.
 It excretes the harmful metabolic wastes, drugs and other substances from the brain to the blood.
 It nourishes the nerve cells.
 It also acts as the buffer.
 It acts as the buoyancy and makes the weight of the brain low.

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