Division
Medulla oblongata
Also called Medulla oblongata, Myelencephalon
Your life-support center: breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure and swallowing on autopilot.
The medulla oblongata is the lowest part of the brainstem, where the brain joins the spinal cord. It runs the body's most vital automatic jobs: breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and swallowing. It also handles reflexes like coughing, gagging and vomiting. And it is where the main movement pathway crosses over, which is why the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body.
Where it is
At the very bottom of the brainstem, just above where the skull meets the neck. It becomes the spinal cord at the large hole in the base of the skull.
What it does
Breathing
A tiny group of cells here acts as the pacemaker for every breath you take.
Heart and blood pressure
It speeds up or slows down your heart and adjusts your blood vessels to keep blood pressure steady.
Protective reflexes
It runs swallowing, coughing, gagging and vomiting.
The great crossover
Most movement fibers from the cortex cross to the other side here, at a spot called the pyramidal decussation. That is why the left brain moves the right body.
Teaching the cerebellum
Two bumps on its front, called the olives, send error signals up to the cerebellum to help it learn.
Think of it as a hospital's life-support machine that never switches off, keeping you breathing and your heart beating even while you sleep.
Works with
- Corticospinal tractThis main movement pathway runs through the medulla's front ridges, the pyramids, and crosses sides here.
- Spinal cordThe medulla flows straight into the spinal cord.
- Vagus nerve (X)This long nerve starts here and carries its orders to the heart, lungs and gut.
- Glossopharyngeal nerve (IX)This nerve brings blood pressure and throat signals into the medulla.
- Hypoglossal nerve (XII)This nerve leaves the medulla to move your tongue.
- Climbing fibersIts olives send these fibers up to the cerebellum to help it learn from mistakes.
When it goes wrong
A danger zone
Serious damage here can stop breathing or the heartbeat, which is why injuries at the base of the skull are so dangerous.
Opioid overdose
Opioids quiet the breathing centers in the brainstem, including the medulla. In an overdose, breathing can slow and stop, which is why rescue medicines like naloxone save lives.
Lateral medullary stroke
A stroke on one side of the medulla can cause dizziness, a hoarse voice, trouble swallowing, and numbness of the face on one side and the body on the other. It is also called Wallenberg syndrome.
For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.
Surprising facts
- The urge to breathe when you hold your breath comes mostly from carbon dioxide building up, not from running out of oxygen. Sensors in the medulla are among the main detectors.
- Its vomiting trigger zone sits at one of the few spots where the brain's protective blood barrier is leaky, so it can "taste" the blood for poisons.
By the numbers
Where the name comes from
Latin for "elongated marrow". "Medulla" means marrow or core, and "oblongata" means lengthened, because it looks like a stretched-out top of the spinal cord.
Learn it in a lesson
- The brainstem and cranial nervesLife support and the nerves of the head. A short guided lesson in 3D.
Quick quiz
3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.
Which of these is a job of the medulla oblongata?
Show the answer
Breathing. A tiny group of cells here acts as the pacemaker for every breath you take.
Breathing. A tiny group of cells here acts as the pacemaker for every breath you take.
The medulla oblongata is part of which larger structure?
Show the answer
Brainstem. It belongs to the brainstem.
Brainstem. It belongs to the brainstem.
Which part fits this description? "Like a hospital's life-support machine that never switches off, keeping you breathing and your heart beating even while you sleep."
Show the answer
Medulla oblongata. It is the medulla oblongata. Your life-support center: breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure and swallowing on autopilot.
Medulla oblongata. It is the medulla oblongata. Your life-support center: breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure and swallowing on autopilot.
These parts now come back in your daily review, just before you would forget them.
Practice it and its neighbors in 3DSources
- Neuroanatomy, Medulla Oblongata, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
- Medulla oblongata, Radiopaedia
- Neuroanatomy, Corticospinal Cord Tract, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
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Explore the medulla oblongata in 3D
Turn it around, zoom inside and see how it connects to the rest of the brain, then test yourself with quick quizzes.
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