Category Human Body

The amount of water in a person depends on their age, gender and weight. The more water-rich muscles they have, the higher their water content. As we grow older, muscles shrink and water levels drops.

A newborn baby is almost three-quarters water – and the proportion of water in the body drops gradually from then on. Men contain more water than women, as they usually have more water-containing muscle.

The average adult male is about 60% water. The average adult woman is about 55% water because women naturally have more fatty tissue than men. Overweight men and women have more water, as a percent, than their leaner counterparts.

The percent of water depends on your hydration level. People feel thirsty when they have already lost around 2-3% of their body’s water. Mental performance and physical coordination start to become impaired before thirst kicks in, typically around 1% dehydration.

Although liquid water is the most abundant molecule in the body, additional water is found in hydrated compounds. About 30-40% of the weight of the human body is the skeleton, but when the bound water is removed, either by chemical desiccation or heat, half the weight is lost.

Body chemistry

Water is essential ingredient of body cells. The millions of chemical reactions that power life take place in the water contained in the body’s cells. Different body tissues contain varying amounts of water, depending on their function. Muscle contains three times more water than bone.

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Brainstem: acts as a relay center connecting the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord. It performs many automatic functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, wake and sleep cycles, digestion, sneezing, coughing, vomiting, and swallowing.

The brain stem has 3 areas:

• midbrain (also called the mesencephalon)
• pons
• medulla oblongata

The brain stem sends information to and from the other parts of the brain to the rest of the body and controls:

• breathing
• body temperature
• blood pressure
• heart rate
• hunger and thirst
• digestion of food

More specific functions of each part of the brainstem are dependent of the cranial nerve nuclei and tracts that reside in each area. The medulla oblongata controls the respiratory function, cardiovascular system, as well as gastrointestinal and digestive activities. The pons is involved in controlling movements of the body and equilibrium. Finally, the midbrain controls eye movements and integrates it with auditory input. 

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Before we discuss the various cerebellar stroke effects, it’s important to understand the function and structure of the cerebellum itself. The cerebellum — which in Latin means “little brain” — is the second largest part of the brain, following the cerebrum. The cerebellum is part of the hindbrain, located along the rear base of the skull and tucked just beneath the cerebrum. Although the cerebellum only accounts for roughly 10 percent of the brain’s volume, it contains more than half of its total neurons. This mighty “little brain” is responsible for controlling and regulating balance and coordination. The cerebellum plays a major role in fine motor movements and especially muscle memory. In other words, it controls the movements we learn over time through repetition, such as playing an instrument or throwing a baseball.

After a stroke occurs, immediate medical attention is vital to minimizing neural damage. Signs to look for to determine if a patient has suffered a cerebellar stroke include headache, nausea, loss of coordination, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing. Dizziness is one of the most commonly reported cerebellar stroke symptoms, with nearly three-quarters of stroke patients experiencing instances of vertigo, the sensation of falling to the left or right. Other cerebellar stroke effects such as double-vision or nystagmus (condition involving involuntary eye movements) can exacerbate instances of vertigo. Nausea, with or without vomiting, is also extremely common, affecting more than half of cerebellar stroke patients.

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Bleeding, also called hemorrhage, is the name used to describe blood loss. It can refer to blood loss inside the body, called internal bleeding, or to blood loss outside of the body, called external bleeding.

Blood loss can occur in almost any area of the body. Internal bleeding occurs when blood leaks out through a damaged blood vessel or organ. External bleeding happens when blood exits through a break in the skin

When blood from trauma irritates brain tissues, it causes swelling. This is known as cerebral edema. The pooled blood collects into a mass called a hematoma. These conditions increase pressure on nearby brain tissue, and that reduces vital blood flow and kills brain cells.

Bleeding can occur inside the brain, between the brain and the membranes that cover it, between the layers of the brain’s covering or between the skull and the covering of the brain.

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Lifestyle factors that increase your risk of stroke include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, high blood cholesterol levels, heavy drinking, high salt and high fat diet and lack of exercise. Someone who has already experienced a stroke is at increased risk of having another.

High blood pressure (hypertension) is the most significant risk factor for stroke. Blood pressure refers to the pressure inside the arteries. Normal blood pressure is around 120/80, while high-normal blood pressure is 120/80 to 140/90. High blood pressure is when your blood pressure is consistently over 140/90. This is called ‘hypertension’.

Hypertension means that the blood is exerting more pressure than is normal or healthy. Over time, this weakens and damages blood vessel walls, which can lead to stroke, particularly cerebral haemorrhage.

Hypertension may also cause thickening of the artery walls, resulting in narrowing and eventual blockage of the vessel (ischaemic stroke). In atherosclerosis, the pressure of your pumping blood could ‘hose off’ debris from damaged artery walls. The circulating debris (called emboli) can cause a stroke by lodging in and blocking a blood vessel in the brain.

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A stroke, or “brain attack,” occurs when blood circulation to the brain fails. Brain cells can die from decreased blood flow and the resulting lack of oxygen. There are two broad categories of stroke: those caused by a blockage of blood flow and those caused by bleeding into the brain. A blockage of a blood vessel in the brain or neck, called an ischemic stroke, is the most frequent cause of stroke and is responsible for about 80 percent of strokes. These blockages stem from three conditions: the formation of a clot within a blood vessel of the brain or neck, called thrombosis; the movement of a clot from another part of the body such as the heart to the brain, called embolism; or a severe narrowing of an artery in or leading to the brain, called stenosis. Bleeding into the brain or the spaces surrounding the brain causes the second type of stroke, called hemorrhagic stroke.

The most common symptoms of a stroke are:

• Weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body
• Loss of vision or dimming (like a curtain falling) in one or both eyes
• Loss of speech, difficulty talking, or understanding what others are saying
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
• Loss of balance or unstable walking, usually combined with another symptom

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