The central nervous system with the brain and spinal cord, yo!
The brain’s in the neurocranium, the spinal cord is below!
Directions are superior, inferior, dorsal and ventral,
Anterior, posterior, lateral, medial, caudal, rostral!

We examine the brain in sections, coronal, sagittal,
As well as transverse, which is also called horizontal!
The brain has five divisions for localization,
And there are important structures at each and every station!

The telencephalon, diencephalon, midbrain (mesencephalon),
Pons and cerebellum in the metencephalon, medulla in the myelencephalon,
Next we will cover three key regions of the brain,
The brainstem, cerebellum, and the cerebrum work together to keep you sane!

The brainstem includes the pons, medulla, midbrain,
Which involuntary response sustain!
The cerebellum helps with balance and coordination!
Its nickname is the little brain, which needs no explanation!

The cerebrum has two hemispheres, each of which contains four lobes!
The hemispheres exchange signals with contralateral abodes!
Note that the left hemisphere lets you understand language!
Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas give this advantage!

The four lobes are the frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital,
Movement and problem solving are managed by the frontal lobe!
The occipital processes vision, the parietal does touch,
The temporal lobe does hearing, memory, language, oh so much!

The outside of the brain is all wrinkled with convolutions!
Ridges, gyri! While grooves are called the sulci! Give brain surface area contributions!
Deep furrows are called fissures and there are the transverse and the lateral,
The central sulcus, and the largest one the longitudinal!

Besides the skull the brain has other strong protection,
With meninges as a barrier and CSF is for shock absorption!
The dura mater, arachnoid, pia mater are meninges,
The dura hugs the brain, the dura’s on the fringes!

Cerebrospinal fluid or CSF for brief,
Provides the central nervous system with nutrients as well as cushioning relief!
It’s produced by choroid plexus in ventricles of the brain,
And is absorbed in arachnoid granulations so waste can drain!

The falx cerebri is found between the hemispheres, which is where the dura dips,
Before the tentorium cerebelli, through the tentorial notch the brainstem slips!
Four ventricles contain CSF, the fourth, third, and lateral ones,
In between, through the cerebral aqueduct and intraventricular foramen the cerebrospinal fluid runs!

Neurons are the brain’s units, back to the essentials!
The cell bodies decide whether or not axons fire action potentials!
Axons form white matter and are often myelinated hey!
While cell bodies form grey matter and messages relay!

Poetry advisor for original version of poem: Mara Lucien
Music arrangement of Jacques Offenbach (1818 -1890) - Cancan

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