How is the human brain protected from damage?

Answer 1

The cranium is the first level of physical protection.

The meninges are a second line of brain defense. Attached to the interior of the cranium is the duramater and on the surface of the brain lies the piamater. Between the dura and pia is a fluid called Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF). CSF "floats" the brain inside the cranium and provides some limited protection against physical forces. CSF also bathes the brain and carries away waste and other substances helping to protect the brain against chemical insult.

To a small extent, the brain is protected by a network of dense endothelial cells that do not allow large molecules to enter the brain via the circulatory system. These endothelial cells are what some call the blood brain barrier.

Answer 2

The brain is suspended in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which also fills spaces called ventricles inside it. The dense fluid protects the brain and spinal cord from shock; a brain that weighs 1,500 g in air weighs only 50 g when suspended in CSF (Livingston, 1965). Fluid movement within the brain is limited by the blood-brain barrier and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier.

The brain is easily damaged by compression, so the fluid surrounding the central nervous system must be maintained at a constant volume. Humans are estimated to produce about 500 ml or more of cerebrospinal fluid each day, with only about 15 percent of the body's estimated 150 ml of CSF at any given time located in the ventricles of the brain. The remainder fills the subarachnoid space, which separates the soft tissues of the brain and spinal cord from the hard surrounding bones (skull and vertebrae). Elevated levels of CSF are associated with traumatic brain injury and hydrocephalus. Increased fluid pressure can result in permanent brain injury and death.

Anatomical restraints prevent the human brain from getting even bigger. At birth, an infant's skull is as large as it can be without imperiling the lives of mothers and infants during childbirth. The difficulty experienced by humans in giving birth is nearly unique in the animal kingdom, requiring the head of the emerging infant to be rotated as it passes through the birth canal. Female humans have evolved large pelvic openings to accommodate the birth of large-headed offspring, but at the cost of thinning of the pelvic bones. Bones too thin can no longer bear the mother's weight or the mechanical stresses of walking and running, and a compromised ability to flee dangers may prevent the female from coming of childbearing age. Therefore, brain size and pelvic opening size can be considered an evolutionary trade-off between the ability of females to reach and survive their childbearing and child-rearing years, and their ability to bear big-brained offspring.

At birth, the human skull is rather soft, and it deforms somewhat during its passage through the birth canal, then recovers its shape. This allows it to expand to make room for the brain, which continues to grow, at the same rate as that of an unborn fetus, for an additional year. In all other animals the growth rate of the brain slows significantly at birth.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

The CSF that surrounds the brain gives it a cushion effect & also the cranial vault provides it with protection.

Answer 4

A layer of fluid around the brain and the skull

Answer 5

Also, in terms of neuron functionality, the brain is a distributed system. There is no master neuron, or neuron importance hierarchy, they all function as a cohesive unit. You can lose some parts of your brain and still (mostly) function.

Answer 6

The skull and CSF. CSF is a fluid that surrounds the brain and cushions it

Answer 7

No nearves.