She died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. ( 1 CNN)Actress Patty Duke died Tuesday as a result of sepsis from a ruptured intestine, according to Mitchell K. Stubbs & Associates, the agency that represented her. She was 69.
How Your Brain Works. The basic lower brain consists of the spinal cord, brain stem and diencephalon (the cerebellum and cortex are also present, but will be discussed in later sections). In turn, the brain stem comprises the medulla, pons, midbrain, hypothalamus and thalamus [source: Health Pages].
Lower motor neurons, or second order neurons are cranial and spinal nerves. The cell bodies of these neurons are located in the brain stem, but their axons can leave the central nervous system and synapse with the muscles of the body.t the level of the lower motor neurons, there is no alternative route which will allow messages from the brain to reach the periphery. Muscles on the same side of the body as the lesion will be affected. Lesions on the cranial nerve nuclei located in the brain stem are called bulbar lesions.