What is affected?
Polio affects the Central Nervous System, or CNS abbreviated. The CNS consists of the the Spinal Cord as well the Brain. The job of the spinal cord is to get information from the joints and skin through impulses. The impulses come through the Peripheral Nervous system, or the PNS. After passing the spinal cord, this information goes to the brain. The brain lets us react to, think about, and remember this information. Without the CNS or the PNS, we would be as good as paralyzed because there would be restricted access to body parts in a way that impulses cannot go to the brain or reactions cannot occur.