Chinese doctors at a military hospital discovered that one of their patients, a 24-year old woman, was missing part of her brain.

The patient came to the PLA General Hospital of the Jinan Military Area Command in Shandong complaining of dizziness and nausea. She also told the doctors she had difficulty walking steadily for most of her life.

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The woman's mother said her daughter wasn't able to walk until she reached the age of seven and that her speech became understandable only at age six.

Doctors performed a computed axial tomography scan, or CAT scan, and immediately found the reason why the patient had such difficulties.

She was missing an entire region of the brain, and the spot where it should be showed an empty space devoid of tissue.

Instead the space was filled with cerebrospinal fluid, a liquid produced in the choroid plexus of the brain that cushions the brain from impacts and defends against offending organisms in the brain.

The cerebellum, which is normally found beneath the two hemispheres of the brain, has a distinct difference in appearance since it's made up of more compact and minute folds of brain matter. Although it accounts for only 10 percent of the brain's total size, the cerebellum, which is also called the "little brain," contains half the organ's total neurons.

While the patient's condition surprised the doctors, a person with a part of the brain missing, either through surgical means or congenitally, is not unheard of.

This woman is the tenth person in history recorded to have survived without the part of the brain responsible for speech, balance and the ability to learn particular motor actions.

"These rare cases are interesting to understand how the brain circuitry works and compensates for missing parts," said Mario Manto, researcher of cerebellar disorders at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium.

Tagsbrain, Cerebellum, Balance, Coordination, Science, medicine, Medical exam, medical news, Shandong province