Protection of the brain

The protection of the brain is a vital part of your survival. Although brain functions are important and complicated, safety comes first. Without protection to your brains, they can be penetrated and damage at every step you take while walking. 

The brain is found inside a bone shelter called the cranium. The cranium will protect the brain from concussion and many other injuries. Together, the cranium, cheek bones, jaw bones, teeth and etc. form the skull protecting your whole face from injury. The cranium will provide the tough protection of anything trying to penetrate through the bone. But the cranium is not enough to protect the brain, because every hard hit you take to the head will affect the brain through shocks from the cranium.

This is why we also have 3 other layers known as the meninges. These layers are made up of tissue which cover and blanket the surface area of the brain's cerebral cortex as well as the spinal cord.  The three layers are known as dura mater, archanoid, and pia mater. Let's take a closer look at these. 

The dura mater is made of 2 layers of a white-like, non flexible thin wire called the membrane. The outer layer of the dura mater is called the periosteum  An inner layer called the dura makes the outer most inner part of the skull. The dura and the falx(a minor layer) separate both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. And at the same time the dura and the tentorium separate both top and bottom hemispheres.

The second layer know as the archanoid is a thin, delicate layer and unlike the dura mater, it is very elastic, in fact this stretches to cover the entire brain. This layer carries many blood vessels of many different sizes across its wide range. The archanoid serves as a secondary layer and gives the brain more like a transport system for blood vessels. 

The layer of meninges closest to the surface of the brain is known as the pia mater. This carries many blood vessels from the stretchable archanoid deep into the brain. The pia mater is the one which has a bumpy bottom surface to firmly but gently cradle the brain and keep it in place with the support of the other meninges. There is a gap found between the pia mater and the archanoid known as the subarchanoid space. This is were your cerebrospinal fluid flows(CSF).

CSF is found surrounding the brain and the spinal cord. It is a clear and has a similar viscosity to water. This helps cushion the brain including the spinal cord from any injury. The CSF serves other interesting purposes such as flowing out waste. It also serves as a transportation route to transport hormones around to parts of the brain. When CSF builds too much in ventricles, obstructs ventricles, or has problems without absorbing waste you are diagnosed with the condition of hydrocephalus.

So, imagine what it would be like without brain protection, in fact if you didn't have brain protection you couldn't even imagine! You would be receiving concussions every second. So remember every part of the brain and nervous system plays a vital role in your survival, not just boosted thinking where you wouldn't have anything to loose. Credits: Human Brain Diseases a Sourcebook