“All Organs of the Body Are Important but There is a Relative Importance of the Brain,” says UI Don

A Professor of Anatomy/Neuroprotection, Professor Olatunde Owoeye, has said that all organs of the body are important but there is a relative importance of the brain when compared to other organs.   

He made this assertion while delivering the 609th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ibadan on behalf of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences.

The title of the lecture was: "The Human Brain; The Three's' (3s) Therein, and Neuroprotection."

Professor Owoeye explained that a defect, disease or injury to the brain or spinal cord reduces the quality of life, makes the victim dependent and becomes a burden to the family and society. 

He added that the human brain, though relatively small, is solely concerned with intellectual functions, thinking, memory, creative ability, decision making, and capacity for speech and language which is unique only to human beings.

The Inaugural Lecturer highlighted the three 's' (3s) as the Neurones - the structural and functional unit of the nervous system; the brain stem - the chief executive officer of the human body where major decisions concerning life are taken; and the spinal cord, which constitutes only 2% of the entire central nervous system and is a continuation of the brain stem.

He said the spinal cord functions are vital and indispensable to the human body and these include mediation of voluntary motor functions, modification of muscle tone, conduction of afferent impulses from most parts of the body, mediation of segmental reflexes and provision of autonomic innervation from thoracolumbar and sacral regions.

The Don stated that neurotrauma (brain injury) could arise from physical injury, radiation, chemical toxicity and extremes of temperature, side effects from cancer chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation.

According to him, notable and debilitating nervous conditions like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and pathology that accompany traumatic brain/spinal cord injuries have been linked to oxidative stress from the generation of excess reactive oxygen species which the body's antioxidant system could not cope with.

The Inaugural lecturer identified and described stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident, as the rapid loss of brain functions due to disturbance in blood supply to the brain.

He said this may be due to ischaemia caused by blood blockage or haemorrhage and all of these result in brain injury with attendant neurological deficiency.

The Professor of Anatomy/Neuroprotection noted that some drugs used in treating brain conditions may also affect brain function such as drugs used in the treatment of epilepsy, adding that anticonvulsant agents have also been reported to exhibit toxic side effects.

He decried the use of popular pesticides in Nigeria, which contain DDVP as the preponderant active pesticide ingredient, stressing that chronic exposure to pesticides could result in pesticide poisoning and tissue injury which could lead to death.

Professor Owoeye advocated the use of nose masks and urged individuals not to stay for too long in areas where pesticides have been sprayed, especially enclosed places.

The Don stressed the importance of neuroprotection and laid emphasis on the morphological/structural alterations that accompany neurotrauma (brain injury) and neural regeneration (brain repairs), using chemical compounds and plant medicinal products with antioxidant activities to observe the neural responses to such induced trauma irrespective of their origin. 

He identified leaf extract from Bitter lettuce/wild lettuce also known as 'Yanrin' in the Southwest Nigeria, where it is a common vegetable, as a plant product with the potential to protect against brain insult from radiation injury.

The Lecturer also said that Tomato is an excellent source of many nutrients and secondary metabolites that are important for human health; minerals, vitamin C and E, carotene, lycopene, flavonoids and phenolics, adding that tomato pomace powder made from tomato has been beneficial in protecting against experimental stroke.

He called on the Federal government for commensurate increase in academic, technical, and administrative staff to meet up with the increased intake of medical and dental students in the universities.

The Inaugural Lecture was the sixth in the series for the 2025/2026 academic session.

Courtesy: UI DIRECTORATE OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION