[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Photograph of model of horse's brain: longitudinal section; lateral view; cerebrum; cerebellum; and isthmus.] The third division of the brain is the _cerebellum_. This is a single mass supported by the isthmus. It is situated posterior to the cerebrum, from which it is separated by a transverse fold of the membranes covering the brain. This mass of nerve tissue is much smaller than the cerebrum. The white nerve tissue forms central nuclei which send out branches that ramify in every direction. The centre of the muscular sense is said to be located in this division of the brain. A second function is the maintenance of body equilibrium through its connection with the nerve of the middle ear. _The spinal cord_ commences at the posterior opening (occipital foramen) of the cranial cavity, and terminates posteriorly in the lumbar region at the upper third of that portion of the spinal canal belonging to the sacrum. It is thick, white in color, irregularly cylindrical in shape, slightly flattened above and below and reaches its largest diameter in the lower cervical and lumbar regions. The spinal canal is lined by the outer membrane that envelops the cord, which aids in fixing this organ to the wall of the canal. The spinal cord is formed by white and gray nerve tissue. The gray tissue is situated within the white, and it is arranged in the form of two lateral comma-shaped columns connected by a narrow commissure of gray matter. The extremities of the lateral gray columns mark the origin of the superior and inferior roots of the spinal nerves. The white tissue of the cord is also divided into lateral portions by superior and median fissures. The inferior fissure does not extend as far as the gray commissure, leaving the lateral inferior columns connected by a white commissure. There are certain centres in the spinal cord that are capable of carrying on certain reflex actions independent of the chief centre in the brain. The white matter of the cord is made up of paths over which impulses to and from the brain are transmitted. _There are twelve pairs of cranial nerves_. Two pairs belong exclusively to the special senses, smell and sight. Altogether there are ten pairs that are devoted to functions connected with the head, either as nerves of the special senses or in a motor or sensory capacity (Figs. 26 and 27). There are two pairs distributed to other regions. These are the tenth and eleventh pairs. The tenth pair or pneumogastric is distributed to the vital organs lodged within the body cavities. There are forty-two or forty-three pairs of spinal nerves given off from the spinal cord. The spinal nerves have two roots, superior and inferior. The superior is the sensory root and the inferior is the motor root, both uniting to form a mixed nerve trunk. The sensory root possesses a ganglion from which it originates.