Protection of brain and spinal cord
A bony box, a fluid balloon and the backbone.
Handle with care
The brain is a delicate organ and it is very important, so it needs to be carefully protected.
What do you think protects the brain?
What this lesson covers
The idea
The brain sits inside a bony box, within a fluid-filled balloon that absorbs shocks, and the spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column or backbone.
Handle with care
The brain is a delicate organ and it is very important, so it needs to be carefully protected.
What do you think protects the brain?
- A bony box and a fluid-filled balloon inside it
- A layer of muscle around the brain
- A layer of hormones in the blood
Layers of protection
Press Next step to add each layer.
Three guards
The brain has two layers of protection: a hard box outside and a fluid cushion inside. The spinal cord is guarded by the backbone.
The brain sits inside a bony box, within a fluid-filled balloon that absorbs shocks. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column, or backbone.
Notes
The brain sits inside a bony box, within a fluid-filled balloon that absorbs shocks, and the spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column, or backbone.
Check yourself
What surrounds the brain and gives it shock absorption?
What protects the spinal cord?
In which order are the layers around the brain, from outside to inside?
What do you feel when you run your hand down the middle of your back?
- A layer of muscle. The book says the brain is contained in a fluid-filled balloon that provides shock absorption.
- A fluid-filled balloon — correct. Yes!
- The vertebral column. The vertebral column protects the spinal cord, not the brain.
- The bony box that holds the brain. The bony box protects the brain. The spinal cord is protected by the backbone.
- The cranial nerves. Cranial nerves arise from the brain. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column.
- The vertebral column, or backbone — correct. Yes!
- Bony box, then fluid-filled balloon, then the brain — correct. Yes!
- Fluid-filled balloon, then bony box, then the brain. The bony box is the outer layer and the fluid-filled balloon is inside it.
- Brain, then bony box, then fluid-filled balloon. The brain is the innermost part, inside both the balloon and the box.
- A soft, smooth bundle of muscle only. The book says you feel a hard, bumpy structure, the backbone.
- A hard, bumpy structure, the vertebral column — correct. Yes!
- The brain. The brain sits in the head, inside the bony box.