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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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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Animal species anatomy [closed]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal
Do all animal species have two lungs and two kidneys similar to human beings?
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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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Is there any ethnicity difference in average pupil size?
I have seen some articles claim African Americans have smaller average pupils than whites while Asians have larger pupils. Is it true?
link:
Y. Li, D. Huang; Pupil Size and Iris Thickness Difference ...
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Do patella bones form in people born with the inability to walk?
The patella is a sesamoid bone that typically doesn't completely from and ossify until ~3-6 years of age (e.g., Source). My long-standing understanding (supported by a claim in Saladin's college A&...
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Is the diaphragm made of two muscles?
Is there a 'crural' and 'costal' parts of the diaphragm as suggested in this paper or is it just a single muscle?
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How do Human Skin Creases Vary?
I am studying human gross anatomy in order to produce an anatomically correct CGI model of the human body. As part of this, I'm attempting to understand the different features that define the ...
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Why proprioceptive fibres (of CN V) have their cell bodies in mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus?
It's seen that GSA (General Somatic Afferent) fibres (of CN V) have their cell bodies in trigeminal ganglion. But the proprioceptive fibres' peripheral processes terminate at mesencephalic trigeminal ...
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Pectoralis muscles as push muscles vs pull muscles
Pectoralis muscles are the adductors, flexors of arm in addition to medial rotators of arm. How does this action translate in to acting as helping in push ups or in bench press?
I am having trouble ...
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Clarification for the anatomical terminology of the cerebellum
I've been trying to find descriptions for some of the fissures found on the inferior surface of the cerebellum, and so far the only source I've been able to find that provides an adequate description ...
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Phantom Limb | Is that even possible?
I am fascinated by the fact that an amputee can control their robotic arm by thinking of the actions they would normally execute when the limb was present.
The mind sends signals to the nerve endings ...
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Can the eye determine which type of defocus is presented to it?
I have a question regarding myopic and hyperopic defocus.
My question is, is the eye able to determine which type of defocus is presented to it and if so what mechanisms allow it to distinguish ...
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Why are the pulmonary vein and artery not like the rest of circulatory system?
I'm learning anatomy. What I learnt is that we have arteries that have oxygenated blood which appears red in color, and branch blood to arterioles to deliver blood to cells via capillaries from where ...
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is there a limit to how much humans can taste?
kind of a weird question, sorry, but i was wondering--is there a threshold at which our taste buds become overwhelmed? if i, say, put some supersweet compound in my mouth, would there be a point at ...
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Can the axial length of the human eye decrease?
I understand that the axial length of the eyeball grows until you are around 20 years of age, which is why hypermetropia decreases with age but myopia doesn't. My question is: can the axial length of ...
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What's the difference between the terms "muscle" and "muscle organ"?
Foundational Model of Anatomy distinguishes between Muscle organ and Muscle. What's the difference between the two?
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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. ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 "...
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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 "...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Genes associated with human female breast size
What are the genes associated with female breast size and natural variation thereof in human beings?
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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 ...
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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" ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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 image ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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? ...
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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 ...