The Brain Injury Association of America is marking the beginning of Brain Injury Awareness Month, which starts today. Each year BIAA leads the brain injury community in raising awareness about brain injuries by designating the month of March as a time to recognize and support the millions of Americans who live with brain injuries.

More than 2.5 million people in the United States sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) each year, and 1 million more experience strokes and other acquired brain injuries. At least 5.3 million Americans live with TBI-related disabilities at a cost of more than $76 billion each year.

People living with brain injuries want the same things we all want: a good job, someone to love, a nice home, and fun in their lives. They want to be defined by who they are as people, not by the challenges presented by their injuries.

They are not alone.

For more than 35 years, the Brain Injury Association of America has provided help, hope, and healing for millions of people after they experience the life changing and sometimes devastating effects of brain injury. Callers to our National Brain Injury Information Center (1-800-444-6443) talk with compassionate, knowledgeable specialists who assist in locating rehabilitative, legal, financial, and other support services critical to maximizing recovery.

Help raise awareness about brain injury by using the awareness month hashtag #NotAloneinBrainInjury on social media. For more information and to download advocacy and informational materials to help raise awareness about brain injuries, visit the BIAA website at http://www.biausa.org.

These facts will teach you interesting bits of information about the physical make-up of the human brain.

1. Weight. The weight of the human brain is about 3 lbs.
2. Cerebrum. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and makes up 85% of the brain’s weight.
3. Skin. Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain.
4. Gray matter. The brain’s gray matter is made up of neurons, which gather and transmit signals.
5. White matter. The white matter is made up of dendrites and axons, which create the network by which neurons send their signals.
6. Gray and white. Your brain is 60% white matter and 40% gray matter.
7. Water. The brain is made up of about 75% water.
8. Neurons. Your brain consists of about 100 billion neurons.
9. Synapses. There are anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 synapses for each neuron.
10. No pain. There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain.
11. Largest brain. While an elephant’s brain is physically larger than a human brain, the human brain is 2% of total body weight (compared to 0.15% of an elephant’s brain), meaning humans have the largest brain to body size.
12. Blood vessels. There are 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the brain.
13. Fat. The human brain is the fattest organ in the body and may consists of at least60% fat.