Human Body | Secrets of the Human Body | Human Anatomy | Human Skeleton | Human Body Parts | Body Anatomy | Body Parts Names

Discoveries: the new secrets of the human body

Human Body | Secrets of the Human Body | Human Anatomy | Human Skeleton | Human Body Parts | Body Anatomy | Body Parts Names

Human Body | Secrets of the Human Body

What are the 12 Body Parts ? How Many Body Parts are there in the Human Body ? What are the 78 Organs in the Human Body ? What are the 4 Major Body Parts?

206 bones, 639 muscles… Since the beginnings of anatomical studies in the 16th century, one might think that we know the human atlas inside out. Yet researchers are still looking … and finding!

They are five centuries old and have not aged a bit. The anatomical plates produced by Leonardo da Vinci remain impressive in their realism. Today, thanks to advances in imaging and computing, interactive 3D models allow you to dive deep into the body with a simple finger gesture on a screen. But the owner's turn is not over yet. Anatomy research continues. And some discoveries could allow us to better treat us.

 

Human Anatomy | Human Skeleton

Well hidden salivary glands?

Just recently, Dutch doctors looking at pictures of cancer patients got quite a surprise. In addition to the "landscape" they used to scrutinize, they detected an unknown structure in the nose pharynx, just behind the palate. Hitherto invisible, this discreet entity has been unmasked thanks to the association of several imaging techniques.

For the signatories of this work, this would be a fourth pair of salivary glands. The others are found near the ears (parotid glands), under the jaw (submandibular) and a third under the tongue (sublingual). According to a first hypothesis, these "tubal glands" as they have been baptized) serve to lubricate the upper parts of the pharynx in order to facilitate swallowing.

However, their existence still deserves verification. So far, they have only been observed in the hundreds of patients in the Dutch study. If this discovery were confirmed, would it upset anything other than anatomical works? "Yes!” assure the researchers. Because, like the other salivary glands, this structure would become a target to be avoided during radiotherapy treatments. "Sparing them could improve the quality of life of patients," they stress.

 

 Human Anatomy | Human Skeleton

The interstitium, a masked organ?

Discovering, in the 21st century, a structure almost as large as the skin might seem completely crazy (see box). Unless putting on new glasses made it possible to see things very differently! This story is that of the interstitium. This large compartmentalized "envelope" filled with liquid and supported by a network of collagen and elastin seems to line our tissues, especially in the intestines and several vital internal organs. "We had known her for a long time," confirms Fabrice Duparc.

Professor of anatomy (University of Rouen) and editor-in-chief of Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy, a specialist journal. But she was considered a supportive fabric, without a particular role. "However, in 2018, the use of a laser endoscope made it possible to study it much more precisely ... and to discover, perhaps, its real function. “It seems that the interstitium is not just a framework: it would participate in lymphatic drainage and intervene in our immunity." 

Explains the specialist. "This anatomical structure could have an important role in the proliferation of cancerous metastases, edemas, fibrosis and the mechanical functions of many tissues and organs, “wrote the authors of the study published in Nature. Neil these, one of them, also hypothesized that the interstitium is what acupuncture describes as meridians. Two years later, nothing is decided. Other studies should attempt to answer the questions raised by the "new" interstitium.

 

Human Body Parts | Body Anatomy | Body Parts Names

A little bone that comes and goes

The fabella, a tiny bone, located in the thickness of the joint capsule at the back of the knee, is not present in all humans. While it had disappeared during evolution, it seems to be making its reappearance. "It is a tissue that has changed its orientation, explains Professor Fabrice Duparc. From fibrous, it sometimes becomes bone. And depending on the populations, its prevalence varies. “So much so that some young practitioners sometimes confuse it with a bone fragment of a femur or tibia on x-rays of a traumatized knee. In addition, it is still unknown what this fabella is for. But it is apparently tending to become more and more widespread. According to an analysis of 58 studies conducted in 27 countries, there were 3.5 times more people owning one than a century earlier!

 

Human Body | Secrets of the Human Body

Wisdom teeth are getting rarer

Effect of changes in our eating and chewing habits? Scientists observe that the number of people with wisdom teeth is decreasing. More generally, the size of the teeth seems to be shrinking. As modern man chews his food much less, this regression does not seem to be a handicap for him.

 

Human Anatomy | Human Skeleton

A third artery being installed in the forearm?

Biology textbooks are categorical: in the forearm, the brachial artery divides into two branches to form the ulnar (median) and radial (lateral) artery. Embryology enthusiasts (the science that describes the transformation of an egg into an organism) also know that at the start of fetal development, a median blood vessel is visible… before disappearing during the eighth week of gestation. In September, however, Australian researchers published an intriguing study.

They noticed that an increasing number of Australians, since the end of the 19th century, have retained this third artery, a vestige of the initial artery of the limb. This peculiarity was only present in 10% of people born in the 1880s. At the end of the 20th century, on the other hand, “The anatomical variations are very frequent, testifies the professor Patrick Baqué, surgeon and dean of the faculty of medicine of Nice. It is very important to know them, in particular, in this case, for a surgery of the carpal tunnel." Especially since, as the authors of the Australian study recall, "when the prevalence of this median artery has reached 50%, it should no longer be considered as a variation but as a normal human structure." In the meantime, it could constitute a testimony of the evolution, still in progress, of our species.