Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
The spinal cord, peripheral and autonomic nerves, cranial nerves, the gut-brain axis, cerebrospinal fluid and the brain's plumbing.
8 articles
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Intermediate
Cerebrospinal Fluid and the Ventricles
The clear fluid that cushions the brain and spinal cord: where it's made, how it circulates through four ventricles, what a lumbar puncture tells doctors, and what happens when it backs up.
May 28, 2026 · 3 min read
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Beginner
The Peripheral Nervous System
All the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord: how a nerve is built, sensory and motor fibres, fast and slow fibres, how nerves regrow — and common problems like carpal tunnel and neuropathy.
May 3, 2026 · 2 min read
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Intermediate
The Brain's Blood Supply
Four arteries, a safety ring called the circle of Willis, and an organ that can't store fuel: how the brain is fed, why blood flow follows activity, and what goes wrong in a stroke.
April 9, 2026 · 2 min read
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Advanced
The Glymphatic System: Does the Brain Wash Itself at Night?
A 2012 discovery proposed that cerebrospinal fluid flushes through brain tissue along blood vessels — especially during sleep — to clear waste like amyloid. What the evidence shows, and why the idea is now hotly debated.
March 4, 2026 · 3 min read
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Intermediate
The Twelve Cranial Nerves
From smell to swallowing: the twelve pairs of nerves that leave the brain directly, what each one does, and how doctors test them at the bedside.
January 15, 2026 · 2 min read
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Beginner
The Spinal Cord
The information highway between brain and body — and a processor in its own right, handling reflexes and rhythmic patterns like walking. Its structure, its nerves and what happens when it is injured.
November 17, 2025 · 2 min read
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Intermediate
The Gut-Brain Axis
The 'second brain' of the enteric nervous system, the vagus nerve, gut hormones and the microbiome: what's known about two-way traffic between gut and brain — and what's still hype.
November 10, 2025 · 2 min read
Spinal Cord & Body Wiring
Beginner
The Autonomic Nervous System
Fight or flight versus rest and digest: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems that run your heart, lungs, gut, pupils and sweat glands without asking — and the vagus nerve at its heart.
November 8, 2025 · 2 min read