|
|
|
Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 140 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
|
 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Mixed Human Body Trivia
the back of the brain. The posterior portions of the occipital lobes in the back of the brain house the visual cortex. Damage to that part of the brain can lead to total blindness, even if there is nothing wrong with the eyes.
4. The heart has four chambers. Two valves are between the upper and lower chambers on each side of the heart and two valves are in the blood outflow tracts of the lower pumping chambers. No valves exist in the inflow tracts to the upper chambers. They fill passively as blood returns to the heart.
thymus gland. The thymus involutes by age 15. The thyroid and parathyroids are secretory glands and the thalamus is part of the brain. If you've ever eaten sweetbreads, they are thymus glands.
1 in one thousand. Almost all people born with only one kidney lead comletely normal lives. Some don't find out until they try to donate one!
From the temple side to the nose side. The lacrimal ducts are located near the outer side of the eyes and tears flow towards the middle, where they drain into the sinuses.
| Roughly what per cent of whole blood comprises the blood cells (reds, whites, and platelets)? The rest of the blood is plasma. | Human Body Basics Part I
|
42%. One determines this by spinning blood in a test tube to determine the hematocrit, which is what the percent represents. Since cells are heavier than the liquid, they spin to the bottom. By far, most of the cells are red, and the contribution of the other cell types is negligible.
the epiglottis covers the trachea so food bypasses the windpipe.. When the epiglottis is dysfunctional due to damage or stroke, one can aspirate food into the lungs and get aspiration pneumonia.
stores bile and contracts to expel bile into the intestine. Pain results when the gallbladder contracts if stones are present. A fatty meal stimulates contraction, since bile aids in the handling of fats.
| What is the average daily production of gastric or stomach acid? To give you a metric reference, a can of soft drink contains 0.355 liters. | Human Body Basics Part II
|
1.5 liters. When all the liquids taken in are counted, the small intestine receives 6-12 liters of fluid per day. Fortunately, most by far is reabsorbed.
touch. Well, I enjoyed it, and I hope you got them all right. If not, then you've learned something.
| Where is there no actual sphincter muscle (an annular muscle which intermittently prevents access across it)? | Human Body Basics Part III
|
between small intestine and large intestine. The boundary between the small and large intestines is the ileocecal valve, which is not a sphincter muscle.
The ability to sense position and location. When visual clues and touch are diminished we rely more on proprioceptors in muscle, connective tissue and other sites to tell us our position. It's something we take for granted unless one has a disease state in which you lose it.
it equalizes pressure between the pharynx and middle ear. The eardrum is pushed or pulled due to differences in pressure between the middle and outer ear canal. Equalizing the pressure reduces discomfort and promotes hearing.
| What is the normal lifespan of red blood cells, the predominant white blood cells, and platelets, in that order? | Human Body Basics Part III
|
120 days, 24 hours, and 10 days. The white cell called the neutrophil lives in the bloodstream only 24 hours, and red cells, which, once mature, are nothing more than thin walled sacs containing hemoglobin, are functional for a full 120 days before breaking up in the spleen and bloodstream and being "recycled" with the iron returned to the bone marrow and other components incorporated into bile in the liver. Platelets prevent bleeding by forming a platelet plug like the "finger in the dike".
in the marrow of flat bones (skull, hips, ribs, and sternum). As we age, blood cell production in the marrow becomes centralized, and away from the arm and leg bones, whose marrow cavities fill up with fat.
130m/sec. Lightning moves at about 150,000km/sec. Think about that next time you read about somebody moving at "lightning speed".
Hands. Each hand has 27 bones. Two hands therefore have 54 bones; the entire human body has 206 (in the adult). The feet closely rival the hands with 26 bones each.
30-50%. Amazing, isn't it? The average weight of bacteria in your gut is 1 kg. That's why nurses get so insistent about your bowels moving even after you've had surgery and nothing to eat or drink for three days...
180 litres. Each kidney has about 1 million nephrons: balls of blood vessels, each surrounded by a capsule. Fluids and dissolved substances get filtered through the capsule by blood pressure; blood cells and larger molecules can't pass through and remain in the blood stream.
| Brad Byers, the "Human Toolbox" holds the world record for sword swallowing (among other strange world records). How many 70cm long swords can he swallow at one time? | Featuring the Amazing Human Body
|
10. Not only does he swallow the swords, but he also twists them. Another one of his amazing feats is to lie on a bed of nails with 18 people sitting on him.
100,000 times. This adds up to about 2.5 billion beats in your lifetime if you live to around 80 years of age.
Every second. This only sounds amazing until you realize how many cells there are in your body. Every square inch of skin alone, for example, contains over 9 million cells. Altogether the average human body consists of 75 trillion cells, give or take a few.
umbilicus. The umbilicus is where the umbilical cord was once connected while you were still developing.
hysterosalpingography. A hysterosalpingograpy is used to detect any abnormalities within the uterus and the Fallopian tubes.
ceruminous gland. The ceruminous glands secrete a substance called cerumen that is more commonly known as ear wax.
cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that affects the metabolism of carbohydrates. It also helps increases the amount of glucose available to the body during the flight of fight response.
| Sometimes doctors need to perform a test called a barium enema. What is another name for this test? | Human Body Terminology
|
lower gastrointestinal (GI) series. Barium enemas involve the infusion of barium sulfate, a radiopaque substance, into rectum in order to view the lower GI tract on a x-ray.
| If your friend is suffering from the varicella zoster virus, what is he or she possibly suffering from? | Human Body Terminology
|
chickenpox. Varicella zoster is the fancy name for chickenpox. The disease can be prevented with the varicella vaccine. Sometimes, for those who have had actual chickenpox, a condition named shingles might appear several years after the chickenpox infection.
lower esophageal sphincter. The cardiac sphincter or the lower esophageal sphincter regulates the passage of food from the esophagus to the stomach.
Haversian canals. Haversian canals extend lengthwise through the bone and contain the blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves necessary for the bone.
gyri. Gyri help minimize the total surface area of the brain. If it weren't for the gyri, then our brains would be huge.
|
| Quiz | Games |
Comm. | Svc | ? | The
Buzz | Me
Play Now! 