The reticular formation is an area of the brainstem without any clear anatomical boundaries, which is involved in the control of many basic bodily functions such as breathing, cardiovascular control, urination, vomiting, swallowing, chewing, control of eye-movement and the reflex orientation of the body in space. Axons from the reticular formation project upward into the cerebral cortex and down into the spinal cord. It is described anatomically as a having a net-like arrangement.