Anatomical Oddities

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An excellent point of entry for anyone who wants to understand the new deep human history and what it portends.”—Guardian In evolutionary terms, we harbor flaws because natural selection, the force that molds our genetically controlled traits, does not aim for perfection or endless good health. If a body plan allows individuals to survive long enough to reproduce (and, in humans and various other organisms, to raise their young), then that plan will be selected. That is, individuals robust enough to reproduce will pass their genes—and therefore their body design—to the next generation. Designs that seriously hamper survival in youth will be weeded out (selected against) because most affected individuals will die before having a chance to produce offspring. More important, anatomical and physiological quirks that become disabling only after someone has reproduced will spread. For example, if a body plan leads to total collapse at age 50 but does not interfere with earlier reproduction, the arrangement will get passed along despite the harmful consequences late in life. Of course, as someone who loves medical history, any book that delves into the discussion of the various nooks and crannies of the human body is right up my alley. In the book, each term is illuminated by the author’s own illustrations with a complete discussion of the term’s etymology and history of discovery. This is a book everyone should read. Roberts is the new Da Vinci, able to shift between science and humanities, the objective and subjective, the global and the individual. There is such a scope of knowledge between the covers of this book that you feel like a better and more knowledgeable person having read it. A mind-altering, life-altering book.”—Dr. Janina Ramirez Did you know you have cobwebs in your head, hair in your lungs, and snails in your ears? In the world of anatomy, every name paints a picture: from the arachnoid mater, a brain membrane resembling a spider’s web, to the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract (from the Latin for “eyelash”) and the curlicue cochleas (from the Greek for “snail”) that power our hearing.

Roberts's engagingly personal style connects you to your ancestors, to your own personal beginnings as a single cell and, in a most attractive way, to herself as an author of great charm. From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself.”— Richard DawkinsHighlights the amazing abilities of the human body. . . . As a compendium of anatomical trivia, this entertains.”—Publishers Weekly A masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are. . . . Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory.”—Observer This is a book everyone should read. Roberts is the new Da Vinci, able to shift between science and humanities, the objective and subjective, the global and the individual. There is such a scope of knowledge between the covers of this book that you feel like a better and more knowledgeable person having read it. A mind-altering, life-altering book.' - Dr Janina Ramirez Even the term “flaw” requires clarification. Living things, and everything they make, eventually fail. The cause of failure is a flaw only when the failure is premature. A race car that fails beyond the end of the race has no engineering flaws. In the same way, bodies that fail in the postreproductive span of life may contain numerous design oddities, but they have no design flaws as far as evolution goes. Gorgeous and full of wise quotes and stories that we would all do well to heed in today’s crazy world.”—Jim Al-Khalili

At this point in history, we need to exploit our expanding knowledge of evolution to enhance the quality of our lives as we grow older because the single-minded pursuit of life extension without considering health extension could be disastrous.

Featured Reviews

As someone who loved taking Anatomy and Physiology in college, I found it helpful to understand the origin of the various anatomical and physiological terminology. The etymology of the terms—the study of the origin of words—was incredibly useful because it helped me understand and, most importantly for any exams, remember those words. Bulging disks, fragile bones, fractured hips, torn ligaments, varicose veins, cataracts, hearing loss, hernias and hemorrhoids: the list of bodily malfunctions that plague us as we age is long and all too familiar. Why do we fall apart just as we reach what should be the prime of life? Roberts . . . finds that our uniqueness is often more complicated and surprising than we could have imagined.”—Forbes O! How an art-full, word-mad book about the body can exercise the mind.”—from the foreword by Holly Dunsworth

Public Domain The entrance to the Mütter Museum on 22nd Street in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia. Anatomical Oddities explores the less-familiar realms of the body, unveiling the mysteries etched into the most outlandish landscapes hidden inside all of us: our crypts and caverns, gorges, islets, and mountains. Along the way, it dips into the history of our relationship with our physical form and the discoveries that paved the way for modern anatomy and medicine. Buried is a tender, fascinating act of listening—of listening to the tales the dead have to tell us about the landscapes we share with them, the histories we have constructed around them, and the futures we imagine for ourselves. Lucid and illuminating.”— Robert Macfarlane Though cobbled together by the blind eye of evolution, humans have proved to be a remarkably successful species. We have outcompeted almost every organism that we have encountered, with the notable exception of microbes. We have blanketed the earth and even walked on the moon. We have even figured out how to escape premature death and survive to old age. Buried is a tender, fascinating act of listening—of listening to the tales the dead have to tell us about the landscapes we share with them, the histories we have constructed around them, and the futures we imagine for ourselves. Lucid and illuminating.”—Robert MacfarlaneThe living machines we call our bodies deteriorate because they were not designed for extended operation and because we now push them to function long past their warranty period. The human body is artistically beautiful and worthy of all the wonder and amazement it evokes. But from an engineer's perspective, it is a complex network of bones, muscles, tendons, valves and joints that are directly analogous to the fallible pulleys, pumps, levers and hinges in machines. As we plunge further into our postreproductive years, our joints and other anatomical features that serve us well or cause no problems at younger ages reveal their imperfections. They wear out or otherwise contribute to the health problems that become common in the later years. Roberts's engagingly personal style connects you to your ancestors, to your own personal beginnings as a single cell and, in a most attractive way, to herself as an author of great charm. From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself.”—Richard Dawkins This article was originally published with the title "If Humans Were Built to Last" in SA Special Editions 24, 1s, 106-111 (March 2015) Anatomical Oddities is an artistic and linguistic adventure, taking the reader on a journey to discover the hidden landscape of the human body: its crypts and caverns, gorges, islets and mountains. Along the way, we dip into the history of our relationship with the human body and the discoveries that paved the way for modern anatomy and medicine. Another popular exhibit at the Mütter Museum is Grimm's Anatomy: Magic and Medicine, which delves into the more disturbing side of the iconic fairy tales. For example, the exhibit explores how German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's version of Cinderella draws visceral parallels to the tradition of Chinese foot-binding.

Our research interest in redesigning the Homo sapiens body is a reaction to the health and mortality consequences of growing old. We focus on anatomical “oddities” and “design flaws” not only because they would be familiar to most readers, but because they represent a small sample of lethal and disabling conditions that threaten the length and quality of life. It is important to recognize that we live in a world in which human ingenuity has made it possible for an unprecedented number of people to grow old. Our redesign goal is thus to draw attention to the health consequences associated with the aging of individuals and populations. Every part of the human body has a name - and story. But how familiar are you with your arachnoid mater or your Haversian canals? I find the origins of words (especially medical terminology) super interesting so to read how certain words were devised and what they were derived from really added to the depth of the information. Not only is there a wide range of anatomical terms, body parts and info included but some great facts and intriguing science.

About the Author: Professor Alice Roberts is an academic, author and broadcaster, specialising in human anatomy, physiology, evolution, archaeology and history. In 2001, Alice made her television debut on Channel 4's Time Team, and went on to write and present The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us and Ice Age Giants on BBC2. She is also the presenter of the popular TV series Digging for Britain. Alice has been a Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012. This book was both informative and amusing. The focus was on body parts and structures we seldom think of. Especially the artwork, both on the cover and between chapters of the book were illustrative, artistic, and often amusing. Throughout the book, the origins of anatomical words is spelled out in detail, with Greek, Latin, Proto-Indo-European, and a few others. The author makes comments about the words and what they mean, in the most amusing ways. This is certainly anything but a dry textbook of anatomy! This is a book everyone should read. Roberts is the new Da Vinci, able to shift between science and humanities, the objective and subjective, the global and the individual. There is such a scope of knowledge between the covers of this book that you feel like a better and more knowledgeable person having read it. A mind-altering, life-altering book.”— Dr. Janina Ramirez Roberts’s legions of fans will find themselves delighted by a book that is both accessible and expert [and] wears deep learning lightly.”—Daily Telegraph