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Maria Popova of the always neat Brain
Pickings has a great review of The Art of Medicine: Over 2,000 Years of Images and Imagination
The iconic image above is the classic 1926 illustration by Fritz Kahn titled Der Mensch als Industriepalast / Man as Industrial Palace
Dan Beckemeyer added needle felted muscles and blood vessels to anatomical diagrams. It’s like the drawings are coming to life.
The human body may seem very familiar to you, especially your own, of course. But there’s some weird things going on that you might not yet know. Like the way you glow!
Fireflies and jellyfish glow, but humans? Believe it. The phenomenon is a natural byproduct of the metabolic process, and scientists have long been aware of the presence of bioluminescence in most living creatures. But it wasn’t until 2009, when a team of Japanese researchers developed a camera 1000 times more sensitive than the human eye, that human bioluminescence was captured on film. The light show apparently works on a 24-hour cycle — brightest in the late afternoon and on the cheeks, forehead and neck. Next time someone tells you “you’re glowing,” you can take it literally.
That’s just one of 11 insane features that you probably haven’t thought about in the human body. Bone up on all of them at mental_floss. Link
(Unrelated image credit: Flickr user Scorpions and Centaurs)
It may not be anatomically correct, but you have to admit it’s perfectly descriptive! This illustration is from UK artist Jim Lockey. Link -via Nag on the Lake
If you have a baby and want to know how successful he will be in certain sports or how popular he will be with the ladies, it turns out, you can actually gauge these pretty well even before he starts learning how to throw a baseball. Learn how and read more about weird physical indicators over on Cracked.
The following is an article from the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research.
Figure 1. Battle between Lapiths and Centaurs (Centauromachy) at the wedding of Perithoos with Hippodameia (Vase 5th century b. Chr.)
by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. H.C. Reinhard V. Putz
Institute of Anatomy, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich/Germany
This study concerns itself with the systematics of Centaurean anatomical conditions. These are bound to be highly peculiar, combining, as they do, an animal trunk (the equine component) with a human trunk sans legs (the human component). (See Figure 8.)
A staple of Greek mythology, Centaurs have made many appearances throughout the centuries and even in our own time. They are represented by numerous sculptures and images in museums. True, when speaking of Centaurs, we have to rely on two- and three-dimensional models—here as many other instances in biology—because there has not yet been a sighting of a live specimen. However, the majority of extant graphic documents show a degree of verisimilitude and accuracy that makes them appear quite trustworthy, at least as regards the outward appearance of those beings.
Figure 2. Hypothetical skeleton of Centaurs.
Historical Background
As we know from the ancient Greeks, the Centaurs are the offspring of the ill-fated relationship of Ixion, the king of the Thessalian Lapithes, and a cloud with the features of Hera, the wife of Zeus. At the wedding of Perithoos, king of the Lapithes, the drunken Centaurs sought to ravish the Lapithes’ wives. In the ensuing battle (the Centauromachy), they were driven from Thessalia to the Peloponnese. Quite understandably, Centaurs and Lapithes became mortal enemies on that day.
Materials
Since neither fossils nor living specimens of Centaurs have hitherto been discovered, the present study must be founded upon artistic renderings of its subject matter. These are abundant; collectively, they offer us a wealth of data. The most ancient depictions of Centaurs may be found on Grecian vases (see Figure 1). Greece and Rome have provided us with impressive sculptures. Medieval sources, on the other hand, are primarily scriptorial. Artistic renderings of Centaurs soared at the onset of the Modern period. Judging by the number of sculptures extant, Centaurs must have enjoyed remarkable popularity in the Renaissance. They have also inspired sculptors of more recent times.
Methods
This is a foundational survey of the Centaurean body and its organs. We present no statistical analyses. The sizes of sets of specimens are widely heterogeneous and can by no means be considered evenly distributed as regards their characteristics.
Nomenclature
The classic Centaur consists of two body parts, which meet at a right angle. The vertical or anterior part shows all the characteristics of the species Homo. For simplicity’s sake, however, we will simply refer to it as Anterior (A). The horizontal part is the posterior one. In classic Centaurs, this quite obviously belongs to the species Equus. We will simply call it Posterior (P). For the purpose of the present study’s phylogenetic considerations, and in order to improve legibility, species-related epithets will be attached to these terms. When describing and discussing classic Centaurs, therefore, the anterior part of the body will be referred to as Human Anterior (HA); the posterior part, as Equine Posterior (EP).
(Image credit: Flickr user Terence Faircloth)
Two Parts
The anterior (HA) of the classic Centaur consists of a human element constituted by a head, a neck, a thorax with upper extremities, and an abdomen. The presence of a pelvis cannot be established with certainty. At any rate, the outward appearance indubitably and undeniably shows that HA—down to the umbilical region—possesses that human plasticity that is described in any modern anatomical atlas (e.g. Putz and Pabst, 2005). In contrast, EP consists of a near-complete horse’s trunk with a tail and four extremities. Again, the plasticity of the trunk allows us to accept as standard the equine anatomy that is exhaustively documented in the relevant literature (e.g. König and Liebich, 1999).
more …
Wear your insides on the outside and study human anatomy while you drift off to dreamland. This creepy sleeping bag would be perfect for a Halloween sleepover.
Link (in Japanese) – Via Who Killed Bambi
Heart (Anatomy) Keychain – $4.95
Are you afraid of giving someone your whole heart this Valentine’s Day? Give them the Heart – Anatomy Keychain from the NeatoShop instead. It’s like giving your whole heart, but in miniature and in plastic. Plus, if they manage to some how break this heart it won’t hurt that much.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more heartfelt gifts.
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Pretty creepy, huh? These unidentifiable biological specimens were created with polymer clay and sealed in glass jars by artist Carim Nahaboo. Link -via Boing Boing
It sounds like something the dog says when he’s trying to recall where he buried it! No, it’s today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss. How much do you remember about the bones of the human body? In this quiz, you’ll be given the names of nine bones, and you match them to the part of the body they are from. I scored 100%! Link
Animals that live underwater as so different they never fail to astound us. Marine invertebrates may flop like jelly when we see them on land, but in their own environment they can be as rigid as they need to be, thanks to the fluid skeletons they formed by compressing water within their organs. Read about how they work and see some gorgeous underwater pictures at Environmental Graffiti. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user Neil Barman)
This isn’t a typical teardown geekery of popular electronic gadgets: artist Mads Peitersen from Denmark imagined the innards of the iPhone 4 as if it were made from organic matters, not cold-hearted chips and boards.
Walyou has the large pic of Mads’ artwork: iPhone 4 Anatomy and Gaming Controllers and Toaster Anatomy
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Rene Descartes’ health may have been troubled, but his genius was completely intact. His survival led to an amazing perspective about why we are here, and the truth behind that notion.
Thus the whole of philosophy is like a tree. The roots are metaphysics, the trunk is physics, and the branches emerging from the trunk are all the other sciences, which may be reduced to three principal ones, namely medicine, mechanics and morals. By “morals” I understand the highest and most perfect moral system, which presupposes a complete knowledge of the other sciences and is the ultimate level of wisdom.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by lannaxe96.
Tribbles {wiki} appeared in a 1967 episode of Star Trek: TOS and returned in the spin-off series and movies. Romulan Whore posted this diagram of the inside of a tribble, and attributed it to the Star Fleet Reference Manual. Since there are quite a few such manuals, I don’t know who the artist is. Link -via Buzzfeed
Sam Loman created a map of the human body’s systems using the style of a subway map. The different systems are color-coded as both anatomy books and trains maps are. Link -via Laughing Squid
Is there something in our brains that make humans see the same geometric patterns during drug use, illness, or near-death experiences? Even pressing on our eyes can induce the same spirals other people see. Research by professor of Mathematical and Computational Neuroscience Paul Bressloff and his colleagues at Oxford shows that these patterns are formed in the first visual field of the brain, or V1.
An object or scene in the visual world is projected as a two-dimensional image on the retina of each eye, so what we see can also be treated as flat sheet: the visual field. Every point on this sheet can be pin-pointed by two coordinates, just like a point on a map, or a point on the flat model of V1. The alternating regions of light and dark that make up a geometric hallucination are caused by alternating regions of high and low neural activity in V1 — regions where the neurons are firing very rapidly and regions where they are not firing rapidly.
A closer look at the types of specialized neurons in the V1 field and how they interact with each other explains the geometric patterns.
Bressloff and his colleagues used a generalised version of the equations from the original model to let the system evolve. The result was a model that is not only more accurate in terms of the anatomy of V1, but can also generate geometric patterns in the visual field that the original model was unable to produce. These include lattice tunnels, honeycombs and cobwebs that are better characterised in terms of the orientation of contours within them, than in terms of contrasting regions of light and dark.
That’s about as simple as I can make it in a short blurb; the entire article explains it better. Yes, there is math involved. Link -via Metafilter
Ever think about which veggies look like our insides? This clever ad can help…not that you need to think about food anymore after your Thanksgiving feast.
Link Via Craftzine Image Via International Vegetarian Union
Thread tiny cameras through the singers’ noses and focus on the larynx. Then have them sing sweetly and see what it looks like deep inside. The singers are Juleiaah Boehm, Emma Deans, Alexi Kaye, and Sally Stevens. -via b3ta
If you’ve ever wondered what’s inside Hello Kitty, we now know there’s a Valentine-shaped heart with a little bow as well as lungs that look at you and cute little intestines. Of course. Designer Dr. Romanelli made these for MediCom Toy Incorporated. Link -via Buzzfeed
Scans of the human brain show how neurons fire in different patterns when we are asleep, drugged, experiencing seizures or headaches, and when the brain is damaged. The image on the left is the brain of someone who is asleep. The right shows the brain of a person in a drug-induced sleep. Link -via the Presurfer
See inside Godzilla, Gamera, and a couple of other movie monsters in poster form. If I could only read Japanese to find out where their weak spots are, then I, too, could save the world! Link -via Digg
Upodate: These are from the book An Anatomical Guide to Monsters by Shoji Otomo with illustrations by Shogo Endo, from 1967. More information can be found at Pink Tentacle, including partial translations. -Thanks, algomeysa!
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Forget jigsaw puzzles, over at the Neatorama Shop, we've got some really cool (funducational?) 3D Anatomy Models/Puzzles with removable organs. My favorite is of the Woolly Mammoth and the Snail: Link
You only have to look at a turtle once to realize how different they are from other vertebrates. Where did that shell come from?
The shell itself is made from broadened and flattened ribs, fused to parts of the turtle’s backbone (so that unlike in cartoons, you couldn’t pull a turtle out of its shell). The shoulder blades sit underneath this bony case, effectively lying within the turtle’s ribcage. In all other back-boned animals, whose shoulder blades sit outside their ribs (think of your own back for a start). The turtle’s torso muscles are even more bizarrely arranged.
Ed Yong looks at turtle anatomy and how this weird configuration evolved from the basic vertebrate plan. Link
Ever wonder what the internal workings of a gingerbread man would look like? Artist Jason Freeny has you covered, detailing the full anatomy of one of our gingerbread man friends.
No, not a tattoo though undoubtedly it would make an excellent anatomically-minded example that would rival this famous skull face tattoo we had before on Neatorama. The gruesome painting is actually printed paper by Paris-based photographer Laurent Champoussin.
Vanessa Ruiz of Street Anatomy asked Laurent what inspired his art series titled Cardiovascular Paper:
I’ve always been interested by the écorché model. I was inspired by the classical representations of Andréas Vesalius, Charles Estienne or Adrian Van Den Spieghel. My idea was to play with the partial, the uncovered (open/discover) of an essential part of ourselves. I also wanted to work on the propagation, the invasion. My will was to design the model, to file down it like a texture and I hope, somewhere like a poetry.
More at Street Anatomy Blog: Link | Laurent’s website and blog – via Cakehead Loves Evil
Photo: Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs
This anatomical duvet cover (or is it blanket?) is titled The Hypochondriac (2004) and is the work of Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs of TONK. The duo are great photographers, but their website has atrocious navigation – via Who Killed Bambi?
