RT Book, Section A1 Waxman, Stephen G. SR Print(0) ID 1137637627 T1 The Brain Stem and Cerebellum T2 Clinical Neuroanatomy, 28e YR 2017 FD 2017 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071847704 LK neurology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1137637627 RD 2024/03/29 AB The brain stem includes the medulla and pons, located ventral to the cerebellum. In addition to housing essential ascending and descending tracts, the brain stem contains nuclei that are essential for maintenance of life. As a result of the relatively tight packaging of numerous ascending and descending tracts, as well as nuclei, within the brain stem, even small lesions within it can injure multiple tracts and nuclei within it and thus can produce very significant neurologic deficits. The cerebellum, located just dorsal to the brain stem, plays a major role in motor coordination. Because of its proximity to the brain stem, injuries which cause swelling of the cerebellum can compress the brain stem, and thus can rapidly become life-threatening.