Located of the brainstem; controls breathing and heartbeat; connects the medulla to the two sides of the cerebellum to help coordinate and integrate movement on each side of side of the body; involved in sleep and dreaming.
Serious symptoms related to the bite of a brown recluse spider include low platelet count, destruction of the red blood cells, blot clots in capillaries, inability to form clots, acute renal failure or kidney damage, coma, and death.
In some cases, patients report feeling a pinprick at the site of the spider bite. In this image, four months after, the dry, dead circle of skin tissue on this woman's leg illustrates the classic look of a brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa) spider bite.