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.
502
questions
-2
votes
0answers
8 views
What is the weight of an average adult male human's ulna and radius bones?
The bones in the forearm of an average adult male human, the ulna and radius. How much do each weight?
0
votes
0answers
12 views
What's the difference between the terms “muscle” and “muscle organ”?
FMA distinguishes between Muscle organ and Muscle. What's the difference between the two?
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Can the shoulder bones grow after the growth plates have fused?
Body builders have broad shoulders. If one start lifting weights after one's growth plates have fused, can one still increase the width of one's shoulders? If yes, does that mean shoulder bones can ...
-1
votes
0answers
13 views
How different is the jaw movement of a dog from that of a human?
If you watch a dog eating, it looks like it has a very different mastication pattern than that of a human. If they are eating something big, it seems like thy only chew vertically and sometimes they ...
0
votes
0answers
42 views
Where can I find anthropometric data for different ethnicities?
I get that this is a sensitive topic, but please trust me, the very reason I'm asking is because I want to represent a people properly.
There's a video game where peoples of different ethnic ...
0
votes
0answers
9 views
Why are the retina layers arranged the way they are? [duplicate]
The retina layers are arranged in such a way that light has to pass through several layers before hitting the photosensitive cells. Won't this be much better if the photosensitive cells made up the ...
-2
votes
2answers
57 views
If black absorbs light, then why did Africans evolve black skin? Wouldn't that make the heat worse? [duplicate]
Wouldn't it have been more adaptive to develop light skin and so reflect incoming light?
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Profile of a human foot
I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, so please let me know in case it is not. My question is just out of curiosity.
What is the reason for curved human foot profile?
First ...
4
votes
1answer
80 views
What is the function of epiglottis?
The last time I came across this question was when I was in high school. And the explanation I was given is that epiglottis works like a valve, it prevents foods from getting into the windpipe. Still, ...
-3
votes
1answer
61 views
Why do humans have flat faces, as compared to chimps?
Apparently adult, particularly older human faces resemble infantile chimps more tham they resemble any other adult hominid.
And adult humans even have as many body hair follicles as infantile chimps. ...
5
votes
1answer
64 views
Is the 6th rib attached to 7th rib, and 7th rib to 8th?
I'm just confused between a lot of pics that draw the thoracic cage in their way. what are these white things that I've shown?
or why the 7th rib is attached to the 8th?
1
vote
0answers
25 views
Why do arteries have a small lumen? [closed]
My biology textbook says that arteries have a small lumen relative to the thickness of their walls. I understand why they need thick walls, to withstand high pressure and stretch etc. But when ...
0
votes
0answers
9 views
Is superior surface of bladder covered with visceral peritoneum OR parietal peritoneum?
As above. I am confused about the definitions here. Is it the case that every time the peritoneum touches an organ it becomes visceral peritoneum?
1
vote
2answers
53 views
Are “sympathetic nerves” the same as “cardiopulmonary splanchnic” nerves?
I've gathered from a number of sources (e.g., Patel (2015), Wikipedia, and here) that the sympathetic nerves leaving the sympathetic trunk to innervate the heart and lungs are called "cardiopulmonary ...
-2
votes
1answer
64 views
Why is a penis an organ?
According to Wikipedia an "An organ is a group of tissues with similar functions". I don't know anything about anatomy but it doesn't seem to me that a penis can be delimited somewhere to form a "...
-2
votes
1answer
33 views
How can a joint extend or flex?
The idea of a joint flexing or extending doesn't make sense to me, I can see how a leg or an arm might extend or flex but how does a joint extend or flex ?
"The hip joint is most stable when it is ...
1
vote
0answers
52 views
Why doesn't the spinal cord get thicker the further up we go?
The cervical and lumbar enlargements exist on the spinal cord as a result of the increased nerve input/output required for the arms and legs respectively.
However, I don't understand how the ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Is the human iris concave or convex?
Most drawing and 3D modeling tutorials show the iris to be concave. But all the diagrams I Googled show the iris is at best flat, otherwise even a little convex (discounting the optical distortion in ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
Why is the thyroid gland in the neck?
The neck seems like an odd place for it. All other neck anatomy must interface between the head and abdomen (trachea, esophagus, circulation, spine etc).
Surprisingly I have not been able to find ...
1
vote
0answers
31 views
Origins of the body mechanics theory
In physical therapy and occasionally in sports coaching, there's often a precise description of the mechanics of what happens during the movement (which muscles are engaged, which joint moves where ...
-1
votes
1answer
84 views
Is the backward positioning of photoreceptors bad design?
(Several questions have been asked about this topic but most are quite old and there has been at least one study since then that has attempted to answer this in a new way)
Since photoreceptors are ...
-2
votes
1answer
81 views
Genes associated with human female breast size
What are the genes associated with female breast size and natural variation thereof in human beings?
1
vote
0answers
204 views
What are the differences between internal organs between sub-saharan Africans and Northern Europeans
Lets take as examples a typical Norwegian and a typical Nigerian.
In terms of human anatonomy the outer differences are more obvious e.g. (on average)
White skin vs dark skin
Pointy nose vs broad ...
1
vote
1answer
37 views
Does cartilage connect to other cartilage?
In the definition of a Ligament in Oxford states:
A short band of tough, flexible fibrous connective tissue which
connects two bones or cartilages or holds together a joint.
the wording of "two" ...
3
votes
1answer
72 views
True anatomical/physiological explanation for “metaphysis” etymology
The anatomy textbook1 I use for my students states that the prefix meta- means "between:"
The metaphyses (me-TAF-i-sez; meta = between; singular is metaphysis) are the regions between the diaphysis ...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Why is there disagreement on the number of surfaces of the human heart?
I am finding that some state that there are 5 and some that say that there are 3.
For example, "Cardiology: An Integrated Approach" that was published in 2018 states that
There are 3 surfaces of ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
What's the function of vitelline circulation in human embryo?
Why do we need a vitelline circulation if we already develop a placenta to gather all the nutrients we need?
Is it an evolutionary remain?
1
vote
0answers
33 views
How much blood do we have when the heart first starts to beat?
How much blood do we have when the heart beats for the first time?
It should be between the third and fourth week of embryonic life.
1
vote
0answers
21 views
Reflex muscular activity in three months old fetus
At the end of the third month, reflex activity can be evoked in
aborted fetuses, indicating muscular activity
This quote is from Langman's Medical Embriology.
Have I misunderstood it or it is ...
7
votes
1answer
184 views
What does lymph actually look like?
I have scoured Google and a number of my anatomy textbooks for a picture of lymph. However, I cannot find any such photo (or video) showing its actual appearance.
Can someone provide a reputable ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views
Why does smoking change the human voice?
What happens to the biology of the voicebox of smokers?
Women's voices can change to croaky men's voices, and vaper's voices develop "white noise" content, like a TV set to static, compared to their ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
What are the differences between the margins of the lateral and medial condyles of the tibia?
During an osteology lecture about the bones of the leg, the professor mentioned that the posterior (i think it was the posterior at least, I didn't write my notes down very well) margins of the ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Does the cranial dura consist of the periosteum? and if not, then is there a mistake in my textbook?
My textbook (Neuroanatomy an illustrated colour text) states that:
The spinal dura and much of the cranial dura are separate from the periosteum, which forms the inner lining of the surrounding ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
Biological & Evolutionary Reasons for Palm (Bi)Symmetry
The fingers of the human palm exhibit a (bi)symmetrical pattern with regards to their size, in the sense that the thumb and the pinky are almost the same size, and the same holds for the index and ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
How does energy conversion happen (chemical to mechanical?) in moving body muscles?
From my understanding, the brain sends electrical pulses through neurons to different part of the body to initiate a movement. My question is, how is the movement realized? For example, in a train, ...
3
votes
2answers
98 views
Why do red muscle fibres have more mitochondria than white muscle fibre but less ATP than White muscle fibres?
This is a question given in my Anatomy book and I am really confused because logically the substance which have more mitochondria should have more ATP as mitochondria is the power house of cell.But ...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
Human Anatomy and Physiology - The Muscoskeletal System
In the human limb skeleton can you identify a bone which is rather feeble and does not have much role in supporting body weight or maintain posture, and doctors use pieces of it to transplant to other ...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
Does any tendon in humans receive a high amount of blood supply? Or is the property of not receiving a large blood supply a constant across tendons?
I read on https://www.physiocomestoyou.co.uk/blog/all-you-need-to-know-about-tendons/ (mirror):
[Tendons] do not have a large blood supply.
Does any tendon in the human body receive a high amount ...
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Can the word phalanx also be used to describe the finger bone plus the soft parts around the bone?
I was talking in an SE chatroom about fingers, and not being a native English speaker, I had to look up the word used for the part of a finger from the tip to the closest knuckle. I came across the ...
0
votes
1answer
285 views
What are the coverings of femoral hernia?
It was my Viva question and I was really puzzled.I know what is femoral hernia and it route like the abdominal content moves down the femoral canal and further through the saphenous opening and all ...
0
votes
0answers
52 views
Human femur maximum strength
In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os98s9kBlOI it is demonstrated that a moose leg bone can support until nearly 10 tonne before break. Is there any similar demonstration on human femurs? ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
Are there any benefits/disadvantages/traits from having a permanent lower core temperature?
My body temperature as far as I remember has always been around 35.6 degrees Celsius, that's a degree less than what is the usually quoted as the average temperature for humans.
Are there any known ...
3
votes
0answers
54 views
Medical terminology for asymmetrically-shaped paired body parts?
Some people have different sized feet [source], a limb that is slightly longer than the contralateral (on other side of the body) limb [source], or other instances of paired body parts being different ...
2
votes
1answer
33 views
can auditory/ocular reflexes exist?
In the same way the knee-jerk reflex is a thing (I think the nerve signal doesn't go through the brain?), can stimuli received by the eyes or ears trigger "instantaneous" (faster than the brain can ...
1
vote
0answers
34 views
Can we “learn” reflexes?
Can we force our bodies to react to situations faster than our brain can think about them?
Some reflexes I can think of off the top of my head:
knee jerk reflex
retracting hand when touching a hot ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
Is medullary cavity totally absent in clavicle?
In one of my books it said that medullary cavity is totally absent in clavicle but is it completely true ? One of my teachers said only the medial 2/3 of clavicle has a medullary cavity.
2
votes
1answer
78 views
What forms this pad on the side of the face?
I've been trying to figure out this for the best portion of this morning, but what structures are responsible for the pad highlighted in red? (sorry for low quality of picture, was just watching the ...
0
votes
0answers
50 views
Where would I point to if I wanted to indicate the location of the anterior insular cortex?
I understand research suggests the anterior insular cortex is where human empathy originates. The images I found researching the location of the AIC
do not give me a clear sense of where it is in ...
1
vote
0answers
71 views
What are the sufficient criteria that make an entity a living homo sapiens? [closed]
When I say criteria I mean like x biological functions or y genetics.
If it were to be appearance,anatomy. A corpse completely looks like a man.
Moreover a person who has had their 4 limbs amputated, ...
-1
votes
2answers
297 views
Why does flicking a finger generate so much more force than extending it quickly?
Flicking a finger (holding it back with e.g. the thumb while building up "pressure" against the thumb, then releasing) is much more powerful than just uncurling the finger quickly.
I tried to do the ...
