Category Archives: Health and Human Anatomy

Nails

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Nails

Don’t bite them!

  • Nails help protect the soft top part of fingers and toes and are found on humans and some animals.
  • Nails are made of keratin, a protein that is also found in hair and skin, and animal horns and hooves.
  • Nails consist of a ‘nail plate’, which is the hardest part of the nail; a ‘nail bed’, which is the softer skin underneath the nail; and the ‘matrix’, which is the soft tissue that the nail protects underneath the base of the nail that contains blood vessels, nerves and lymph (a type of fluid).
  • Nails grow an average of 2 – 3 mm (0.08 – 0.12 inches) per month, and fingernails can double their length (regrow) in three to six months, and toenails, which are slower growing, can double in length (regrow) in twelve to eighteen months.
  • The white half moons on nails that are most visible on thumbs, are called ‘lunula’, and under the lunula is the section of the matrix that you can see.

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  • Nails are said to grow quickest in the summer months, especially when exposed to sunlight because they need vitamin D to grow, but other factors, such as age, gender, and health, can make nails grow quicker.
  • Sometimes nails fall off due to disease or injury, but they generally regrow.
  • Unhealthy nails that look sick in colour, or are brittle and break easily, are usually a sign that your body is lacking in vital nutrients, or that there is an internal health problem.
  • Indian Shridhar Chillal holds the world record for the longest nails on a single hand, with a combined total of 6.15 meters (20 feet 2.25 inches) of fingernails on one hand, and the length of his thumb nail was over 1.20 meters (4 feet) long.
  • There is a theory that white spots on your nails are from a calcium or zinc deficiency, however the spots, called Leukonychia, are generally caused by minor injury to the base of the nail (matrix), and they will normally grow out.
Bibliography:
Nail (Anatomy), 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_(anatomy)>
Sentry, S 2013, How Fast do Nails Grow?, Discovery Fit and Health, <http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/nail-care/health/how-fast-do-nails-grow.htm>

Wart

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Wart

An annoying virus…

  • Warts are a small, bump on the skin that are typically seen on people’s hands or feet.
  • There are more than five different types of warts including common, plantar, flat, mosaic and filiform warts.
  • Warts are contagious and enter one’s body through broken skin.
  • Warts often disappear after two months but in other cases they can take many years to leave.
  • Warts are started by contracting the human papillomavirus (HPV) through the skin.

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  • Salicylic acid is a commonly used for removing warts.
  • Warts sometimes regrow after being removed.
  • Toads may look like they have contagious warts, but they don’t and do not spread them either.
  • Girls typically get more warts than boys.
  • There are over 100 different types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is why warts are common.
Bibligraphy:
Wart 23 January 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wart>

Coeliac Disease

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Coeliac Disease

Seel-ee-ak? Celiac or coeliac… they are the same thing.

  • People with coeliac (pronounced seel-ee-ak) disease can’t consume gluten found in barley, rye and wheat, and most coeliacs also react to oats.
  • One in five people affected by coeliac disease may not react to the gluten in oats.
  • When those with coeliac disease consume gluten, it damages the small intestine (villi), so that nutrients aren’t absorbed properly.
  • Coeliac disease is one of the only diseases that can’t be cured, but is easily treated via a gluten free diet.
  • If coeliac disease is not treated, serious problems could occur like poor nutrition, infertility, cancer and diabetes.
Coeliac Disease, Small Intestine, Bowel, Duodenum,
Effects of Coeliac Disease  (Inside Small Intestine)
  • Symptoms of coeliac disease can include depression, behaviour, fatigue, weakness, easy bruising, skin rashes, bone and joint pains, and in children, failure to thrive, irritability and delayed growth, as well as other health problems.  Sometimes no obvious symptoms are present.
  • Those with coeliac disease, must be on a strict diet that has no gluten or any traces of gluten.
  • Commonly, those with coeliac disease are lactose intolerant, although this often rectifies itself once a gluten free diet has commenced.
  • Coeliac disease affects 1 in 100 Australians and 75% of people who have the disease do not know they have it.
  • Coeliac disease vaccines are currently being developed in Melbourne, to help those affected by coeliac disease to consume gluten without damaging the small intestine.
Bibliography:
Coeliac Disease 2011, Coeliac Australia, <Http://www.coeliac.org.au/coeliac-disease/index.html>

Hiccups

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Hic, Hic, Hic – got the hiccups ey?

  • Hiccups are known as ‘Synchronous Diaphragmatic Flutter’ or ‘singultus’ in medical terms.
  • Hiccups or singultus comes from the Latin word ‘singult’ which means ‘the act of catching ones breath while one is sobbing’.
  • Hiccuping can be caused by quick eating, soft drinks, alcohol, dry breads, some spicy foods and laughing.
  • Hiccups repeat many times a minute.
  • The hiccups can be self-cured easily.

Sound Clip: Hiccup 

Sound courtesy of Mike Koenig /Sound Bible
  • American Charles Osborne had hiccups for 68 years (1922- February 1990) and won a Guinness World Record.
  • Only mammals can have hiccups.
  • Hiccups are also commonly known as hiccoughs.
  • An arc reflex involving the diaphragm and glottis make the ‘hic’ noise.
  • Hiccups are normally only treated for long, continuous durations.
Bibliography:
Hiccup 12 November 2012 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiccup>

Chicken Pox

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Chicken Pox

One disease and ten facts.

  • Chicken pox is a highly contagious disease on the body, infected by the virus named Varicella Zoster Virus (the VZV).
  • The main symptom of chicken pox is a spotty, itchy, blistery rash.
  • The chicken pox virus spreads through air by coughing and sneezing and can spread by direct contact with a pox.
  • Chicken pox blisters become scabs and fall off in approximately six days.
  • The mammal group called primates are able to catch chicken pox. This group includes chimpanzees and gorillas.

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  • Chicken pox symptoms in an adult can include headaches, aching muscles, loss of appetite, rashes and/or a fever.
  • The chicken pox scabs can appear all over the body, including on the face, nostrils, mouth, lips, eyelids, ears, palms of your hands, soles of your feet and in your throat.
  • Adults, especially males, normally have more severe chicken pox.
  • Having chicken pox as a child may trigger shingles as an adult.
  • A vaccine was developed by Michiaki Takahashi in 1974 and has been available in the United States since 1995.
Bibliography:
Chickenpox 23 October 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenpox>

 

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Human Brain

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Human Brain

Ten Random Facts’ fourteenth post! Many human brains are behind this fact site – just don’t mix up the small animal brains for the real brains!

  • Your human brain floats in a shockproof liquid to help prevent your brain from injuries.
  • An average adult brain is 1.4-1.5 kilograms which is about 2% of your total body weight.
  • The human brain is divided into four lobes. These lobes are the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe.
  • The human brain is as soft as a bit of gelatin or tofu.
  • The cerebral cortex, the main control centre, is the largest part of your brain.

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Human Brain
Image courtesy of Cooldesign/ Free Digital Photos
  • The left side of your human brain controls the right side of the body, meaning the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body.
  • The right side of the human brain is normally symmetrical to the left side of the human brain.
  • The human brain is the central control system of your body.
  • Most people’s language skills is stored on the left side of their brain.
  • The United States launched a brain research program called ‘The Decade of the Brain’ in the 1990’s that lasted for ten years.
Bibliography:
Human Brain17 October 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain>
Bryan, J 1995, Your Amazing Brain, Wishing Well Books, Australia

 

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