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].
The lowest part of the brain, contains all ascending and descending tracts that connect the spinal cord and various parts of the brain, crossing over point of neurons occur here, contains clusters of cell bodies (nuclei) that keep you alive, originates cranial nerves VIII - XII.