Fun Anatomy Facts on a Fantastic Friday:
- The longest nerve in the body is the Sciatic Nerve which starts in the low back and runs down the back of the leg. In some people, this nerve cuts through the Piriformis muscle. Tightness in the piriformis can lead to what is often termed 'sciatica'.
- The membrane that surrounds bones, called the periosteum has more nerve endings than soft tissue, making it more painful if you get hit directly on a bone surface. This is also why tattoos on bony surfaces can be especially painful! Shin splints caused by shortened muscles pull on this periosteum, causing the stabbing pain that results.
- The longest muscle in the body is the Sartorius, which begins at the outer thigh and ends on the inside of the knee. It acts to allow us to pull our knees apart and bring them up towards our heads.
- We have 38 bones making up each foot. On the sole side of the foot, we have 4 layers of muscle which act to create movement, stability and flexibility.
- The smallest bone in the body is the Stapes bone located in the middle ear. It is approximately .11 inches long!
- My favorite class in graduate school was Gross Anatomy where we dissected human cadavers, also the class I struggled the most with, but LOVED every second :)
Please share your fun facts in the comments!
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10 comments:
I remember reading somewhere that it takes 17 muscles to smile and 43to frown. :)
Hope you have a magnificent weekend!
That list has SO many places for something to go wrong with us!
I got to sneak into Gross Anatomy lab when my best friend was in med school. There were five students per cadaver. I am donating my body, if I can manage to die in a non-squished manner.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
LOL Love the lego people pic.
It is important to know how the body works. Lots of things gross me out easy though. Like when I was at the orthopedic's and he was explaining to the dude in the next room what was wrong with his knee, I had to cover my ears after a point. And I didn't like looking at the drawings he made of my own knee. Ick!
That being said, I use lots of that info even today when doing leg lifts.
I also know lots about hand anatomy. It icked me out so much, that I refused to let them do the surgery on my tendons. That just sounded unnatural and gross. I'm really glad I said no and went a more natural route.
I know the sciatic nerve all too well with this bulging disc thing I have. Have a great weekend.
Well...this was are new info to me! So, thanks for sharing it! So, you worked with cadavers - I'm dying to know if this ever grossed you out? (okay, I'm mainly saying that because I'm sadly trying to be funny...sad, isn't it????)
Holy geez... you dissected human cadavers?! I'm both completely horrified and jealous at the same time :D
Cool fun facts! *Fun fu-fu-fu-fu-fu-fun fun facts! Aaaaaaah FUN FACTS!*
Hmm, fun fact... the names for the two main islands of New Zealand (the North Island and South Island), while used in maps, etc. aren't the official place names. In fact, presently, there are no official place names for the islands.
Learned in 8th grade art class -and nobody believes it until they try it themselves:
Our feet are the same length as the space from the inside of the elbow to the center of the wrist.
Really. Lay a foot down on your arm and check.
Okay...I just tried what Deb is suggesting - about our feet - wild!!! It's exactly that for me! Deb - this is a very cool fact!
Deb-- that's super cool!
Lance-- LOL for trying it :)
Oh Oh oh I have another one..your arm span...fingertip to fingertip is also your height! Try that one!
This has been enlightening and funny as well. Thank you guys.
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