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.
It has a violin shape on the dorsal cephalothorax. The venom in the brown recluse spider is a mix of phospholipases and proteases (e.g., sphingomyelinase D), which results in severe clinical signs. However, there is tremendous variability of the strength of the venom.