Questions tagged [human-anatomy]

This tag is for questions about the general anatomical features of human beings as opposed to the anatomy of non-human animals.

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6 votes
1 answer
470 views

Is there a quantitative report for cortical homunculus?

Almost all websites that I see for cortical homunculus only show the final picture with some qualitative descriptions such as "hands have more dexterity and occupy more motor cortex." But is ...
0 votes
0 answers
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Why vasa recta is absent in cortical nephrons?

My teacher taught me that nephrons that have a short loop of Henle are called cortical nephrons, and they added that it might not even have a vasa recta, or that it may be much reduced. I do not doubt ...
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0 answers
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Are white rami communicantes only specific to the sympathetic system or are they found in parasympathetic system too?

According to the doctor that explained autonomic nervous system to me in medical school, white rami is found in both sympathetic and parasympathetic, it connects spinal nerves to sympathetic chain ...
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1 vote
2 answers
461 views

Why does 360 degree rotation not seemed to ever have evolved?

Of the designs of species that have evolved, I am curious why a 360 degree rotation, like a joint that can spin, does not seem to have evolved, for example wheels or a propeller. Like, is there some ...
0 votes
0 answers
35 views

Estimating Weight of Human Skeletal Muscle?

Is there a way to measure the weight of skeletal muscle? I understand body fat and lean body mass can be measured by: skin fold calipers, electrical impedance, table lookup based on formula of weight,...
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0 answers
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Human Body Muscle Mass: How to calculate new BMR?

Does anyone know how to calculate BMR that accounts for the total lean muscle mass? Specifically for someone that has been performing resistance training and their values may differ than norms? I ...
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4 votes
0 answers
100 views

Why are lymph nodes located where they are? [closed]

According to the National Cancer Institute, a subdivision of the National Institutes of Health, clusters of lymph nodes are found in the neck, underarm, chest, abdomen, and groin. Why are lymph nodes ...
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4 votes
1 answer
83 views

What is the actual molecular mechanism for muscle relaxation?

A number of my students asked what happens to the sliding filaments when muscles relax. For example, in an individual sarcomere, do all myosin heads release all at once or one/few at a time? More ...
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0 answers
25 views

Why is the sinoatrial node in the right atrium?

Is it just an evolutionary remnant? If so, why would it have been disadvantageous for humans to have it in the left atrium?
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Where do salivary glands get all the water?

Humans typically produce a large amount of saliva per day (1.5+ liters in adults). I've searched around but can't find a direct answer to the question of where, since saliva is 99% water, all the ...
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-2 votes
2 answers
66 views

Scientific terms for front-brain, mid-brain and back-brain

I am looking for a (semi-) scientific way of phrasing "front part of brain" (part 1), "middle part of brain" (part 2) and "back part of brain" (part 3) as denoted in the ...
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1 answer
118 views

What's the terminology for the deformity between the halluces and index toes caused by sandals?

In Japan, especially in the past, people tended to wear wooden sandals or the like, which separated their halluces from their index toes. As a result, there is often a gap between their halluces and ...
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2 votes
1 answer
76 views

Need help identifying vascular structures in brain matter

I am working on PET images of the brain. The neuro-oncologist I'm working with identified 2 large high-intensity regions as vascular structures. I've been meaning to ask what structures these are ...
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1 answer
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Solar Celiac Plexus location in body

Where is the Solar (Celiac) Plexus located in relation to the ribcage? I am reading this on the internet, and trying to learn more. "The solar plexus — also called the celiac plexus — is a ...
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0 answers
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How can children scream so loud and so long?

Recently I saw a small baby shrieking extremely loudly (my ears hurt) for at least 4 minutes . How is it possible? If I yelled so loudly, I would be defeated by throat ache after less than a minute. I ...
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6 votes
1 answer
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Human biology - liver regeneration after laprascopic segmentectomy

I am trying to understand to what extent human patients can regenerate liver mass after laprascopic segmentectomy: what part of liver will be regenerated and how fully. My work with sources is not ...
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25 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why do blood vessels in the eye not obstruct vision?

As light enters the eye, it reaches the photoreceptors at the "base" of the retina, which then pass that signal to the bipolar and ganglionic neurons -- the latter of which send the signal ...
0 votes
1 answer
49 views

In human anatomy what is the purpose of measuring shoulder abduction and shoulder adduction separately if they cover the same range of motion?

In human anatomy what is the purpose of measuring shoulder abduction and shoulder adduction separately if they cover the same range of motion? For example, this video Goniometry Shoulder Abduction &...
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0 answers
57 views

Is the human mouth more burn-resistant than other animals which don't eat cooked food?

I burnt my mouth on some hot pizza and it got me wondering if we have been eating cooked food long enough to have evolved a better resistance to oral burns than other species. Have there been any ...
0 votes
1 answer
80 views

How do tapeworms aid weightloss?

The 5 second answer people come up with is, "well they consume calories you otherwise would have". This logic works great if we're discussing the impact of my brother consuming part of my ...
1 vote
0 answers
19 views

Is there any meaningful ratio between the width of a vertebra and its height and depth?

Given the location (i.e. their entry points, but not their trajectories) of two pedicle screws, we are trying to come up with a way to approximate the sagittal distance of the vertebral foramen to the ...
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81 views

Is there a functional reason why the right side of the heart has a tricuspid valve while the left has a bicuspid one?

Is there a functional reason why the right side of the heart has a tricuspid valve while the left has a bicuspid one? Why is it necessary that the right atrioventricular valve be 3-cusped?
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2 votes
1 answer
160 views

What is inside digestive system while it's empty?

Up to this point, all my life I assumed that stomach and intestines are filled with air. I got this impression from all the anatomic drawings in schoolbooks and encyclopedias that show empty stomach ...
1 vote
0 answers
33 views

Which of dB or dBA are more useful for predicting damage to hearing?

With no information about noise other than its loudness measured in decibels or in A-weighted decibels, which can be used to more accurately predict how much hearing damage may be caused? Even though ...
0 votes
0 answers
66 views

Can the effect of an allele on height be context-dependent?

Some data is available on the effect alleles have on height. For example Common DNA Variants Accurately Rank an Individual of Extreme Height However after browsing the literature I was not able to ...
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1 answer
601 views

What is the proper anatomical name of the "band of Richer" that wraps around the quadriceps femoris?

There's this fascial band called the band of Richer that wraps around the quadriceps femoris muscle above the knee (in this illustration, look for it near the left knee). It seems to stem from the ...
-1 votes
1 answer
119 views

What is the difference between the cheeks and the near parts?

Linguistically, there should be the different property or feature between cheeks and the parts right near them for us to call cheeks “cheeks.” What is the main difference between cheeks and the other ...
1 vote
1 answer
196 views

Is human skull size related to brain size?

Me and my dad have a disagreement about this. He thinks that if a person had a larger skull they would naturally have a larger brain. I think that he is assuming the evolutionary trend holds on an ...
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1 vote
0 answers
24 views

Are there any congenital anomalies that cause a lack of epicanthic folds in a child who would normally have them?

Wikipedia lists several medical conditions associated with epicanthic folds. Mount Sinai says that epicanthic folds in a baby who would not be expected to have them is a diagnostic tool that indicates ...
-1 votes
1 answer
69 views

Why can't I swallow the entire (liquid) contents of my mouth at once?

I've tested this out using water - I manage to fit a certain amount of water in my mouth, but if I try to gulp it all at once, I fail: I feel like spitting the water out (gag reflex?) There's a ...
0 votes
0 answers
59 views

The location of pulmonary valve in comparison with the aortic valve

According to most transverse diagrams of heart, the pulmonary valve, in comparison to the aortic valve, angles towards the left side a little bit. Take, for instance, the pulmonary valve is more ...
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1 vote
1 answer
177 views

Is it possible to see some renal pyramids in a transverse section those which cannot possibly be viewed in one longitudinal section at the same time?

This is just a random image I found on Google. It is showing that, in cross-section, several renal pyramids can be viewed. Is it so? According to the following longitudinal section of the kidney, I ...
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1 vote
0 answers
17 views

Cell location co-ordinates [closed]

I have just had the nails on both my big toes removed. I am much happier. But it got me to thinking, as there is no 'root structure' from which the nail grows, is there an x,y,z, type co-ordinate ...
37 votes
2 answers
6k views

Why do we have two kidneys but one liver?

Both the liver and the kidneys are involved in "cleaning" our blood. But why we have one liver and two kidneys? I can just as well imagine that we have two livers and one kidney. Is this ...
2 votes
0 answers
33 views

Motion of Fallopian tube fimbriae

The fimbriae at the ovary end of Fallopian tubes are described as "sweeping" eggs from ovaries into the tubes: When ovulation is about to occur, the sex hormones activate the fimbriae, ...
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0 votes
0 answers
82 views

Why does bicep activate during dead hang?

Hanging from a bar causes my bicep to feel much harder than when simply holding my arm straight above my head relaxed, without a bar. This was slightly surprising to me: I used to assume that since ...
1 vote
0 answers
54 views

Brain centers vs areas (and how they relate to nuclei)

I'm looking for a reputable source that can provide succinct definitions differentiating the following terms in the central nervous system (CNS; particularly in the brain): Area Center Nucleus ...
2 votes
0 answers
66 views

What determines walking direction in humans?

I've wondered about this for a while, without being able to come up with an answer. Is there a body part that single-handedly determines the direction we're walking in? Is it a group of body parts ...
-4 votes
1 answer
89 views

Can a person survive without platlets in the bloodstream? [closed]

Can a person survive without platlets or thrombocytes in the bloodstream, if I guarentee that the person is isolated and won't injure? Any help will be appreciated. Thank you!
0 votes
1 answer
402 views

What type of epithelium are the pancreatic Islets of Langerhans?

The human pancreas contains exocrine acinus cells (simple cuboidal epithelium) and Islets of Langerhans. Despite looking online I cannot identify what type of epithelium the Islets of Langerhans ...
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0 votes
3 answers
121 views

Why aren't the twin organs like both the eyes, ears, hands and legs lying both sides of a human body identical?

Both the eyes are not identical in geometrical shape and size i.e. physical appearances of both the eyes of a person are different from each other. The same difference is observable in both the hands, ...
3 votes
0 answers
37 views

Are the foramina of Magendie and Luschka genuine defects of the ependymal epithelium?

Question: Are the foramen Magendie (or the median aperture) and the two foramina Luschka (or the lateral apertures) genuine defects of the ependymal epithelium? So the ventricular lumen truly ...
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0 votes
1 answer
190 views

Evolutionary selection pressure for human hair patterns?

Are there hypotheses or conjectures that postulate any selection pressures or benefits that account for the patterns of non-pubic human hair? Particularly: Humans do not grow notable (i.e., non-...
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1 vote
2 answers
36 views

In human anatomy / biomechanics, what is the motion called when the arm swings sideways so the elbow moves in an arc of 90 degrees?

In human anatomy / biomechanics, what is the motion called when the arm swings sideways so the elbow moves in an arc of 90 degrees? So e.g. if a person was to elbow somebody behind them , or if ...
  • 735
2 votes
0 answers
20 views

The exact points of muscle attachment and the "equal and opposite force" that skeletal muscles apply

I've been trying to make a simple simulation of the human body executing some motions in Mathematica (the details are irrelevant), but I need to know some more information about muscles and how they ...
1 vote
0 answers
14 views

Flexor/extensor group in lower arm and limb bud rotation

Have the flexor and extensor groups in the lower arm have rotated laterally 90° towards the humerus epicondyles independently of the rest of the lower arm? The pre-axial and post-axial veins are still ...
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1 vote
0 answers
37 views

What is the thinnest spot on the ilium called?

Is there a specific name for the spot on the human iliac fossa where the bone is the thinnest? (Or, is there a name for the thickness measurement of that spot, e.g. the left/right _________ is 2.1mm?) ...
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0 votes
0 answers
37 views

The position of the macula in comparison to the blind spot

Which is located in a higher postion? Macula or blind spot?
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-6 votes
1 answer
82 views

Animal species anatomy [closed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal Do all animal species have two lungs and two kidneys similar to human beings?
0 votes
1 answer
260 views

Can a hinge joint technically allow rotatory motion?

Let's use a hinge joint and pivot joint as examples. When talking about the difference between them in terms of movements permitted, I see that on any websites and textbooks, the term 'rotation' is ...

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