Category: Fun Facts

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Fun Fact: Mandible

Anatomy Def: The lower jaw or jawbone

Outlander Def: That glorious, heartfelt moment when Jamie’s fingers tenderly graze Bree’s jaw.

Learn about the mandible in Anatomy Lesson #26, Jamie’s Chin – Manly Mentus.

The mandible is the largest, strongest and lowest bone of the human face. In the best scenario, it anchors 16 lower teeth (or fewer if the scenario is not that great). <g> Ignoring three tiny ossicles of each middle ear, the mandible is the only movable bone in the adult human skull.

The mandible has U-shaped body which begins center-front at the chin. The body extends backwards on each side to end at right and left angles. The mandible then juts upward from each angle as hearty slabs of bone, the right and left rami (pl.).  Each ramus ends in a head which articulates with each temporal bone at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

During fetal life, the mandible consists of right and left halves but these fuse into a single bone about the second year after birth. A vertical bony ridge (mandibular symphysis) in the midline is evidence of this union.

About 20% of all facial injuries include a fracture of the mandible which is often accompanied by a “twin fracture” on the opposite side.  Metal plates are often used to secure the bony bits during healing.

Try This: Find the point of your chin (mentus).  Now place fingers between chin and lower lip. Move fingers back and forth. Feel the bony ridge? This is the mandubular symphysis  where two mandibular bones fused early in life. Now, run fingers back along one edge of your jaw to a bony knob just below the ear; this is the angle of the mandible.  Now, move fingers upwards along the back of the angle and feel a thick ridge of bone; this is the mandibular ramus. The mandible has an angle and a ramus on each side. Good work, students!

Fun Facts: 

  • This year marks the 44th anniversary of Stephen Spielberg’s film, Jaws!!! 😳
  • The mandible of a blue whale may reach 80 ft. (24 m.) in length!
  • Some indigenous Americans once made weapons from elk, bear, buffalo and horse mandibles.
  • The quijada or charrasgais is a traditional Latin American percussion instrument made from the jawbone of a mule, horse, or donkey.
  • Winston Churchill is credited with the observation: “To jaw-jaw always is better than to war-war.” In other words, a meeting of the minds is preferable to a crushing of the bodies.

Read about the mandible in Diana’s 4th tome, Drums of Autumn. This from the heart-rending first meeting between Jamie and his grown daughter, Brianna.

“Och, no, lassie!” he exclaimed. “I didna mean it that way, at all! It’s only—” He broke off, staring at her in fascination. His hand lifted, as though despite himself, and traced the air, outlining her cheek, her jaw and neck and shoulder, afraid to touch her directly…. 

He did touch her then, his fingers drawing lightly down her face, brushing back the waves of ruddy hair from temple and ear, tracing the delicate line of her jaw. She shivered again, though his touch was noticeably warm; she could feel the heat of his palm against her cheek.

See Jamie tenderly brush Bree’s jaw in Starz ep. 409, The Birds and The Bees. Sob!!!

A deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

Photo credit: Starz

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Fun Fact: Glabella

Anatomy Def: Smooth part of the forehead between the eyebrows and above the nose.

Outlander Def: Marsali’s smooth and confident brow supports her beloved Fergus as he plans Murtagh’s escape!

Learn about the glabella in Anatomy Lesson # 11, “Jamie’s Face” or “Ye do it Face to Face?”

When we are restful and relaxed, glabellar (adj.) skin  is smooth. When we are anxious, worried, appalled or plagued by other strong emotion, glabellar skin may wrinkle.  A pair of small muscles deep to the glabellar skin contract to produce the wrinkling. Perhaps you recall a previous fun fact about corrugator supercilii. No? Well, no mind, this is the name of the wee muscles that wrinkle the glabellar skin.

Those who develop permanent wrinkles of the glabellar skin can opt for Botox injections which paralyze corrugator supercilii (and others) to produce a more comely smooth brow.

The glabella isn’t just for beauty, it is also used in diagnosing certain neurological conditions. Repetitive tapping on the glabella elicits the Glabellar reflex or Glabellar tap sign, a reflex wherein subjects blink in response to the first several taps. If the blinking persists, the response is deemed abnormal.

Fun Fact: In cases of dehydration, the skin of the glabella can be gently lifted and pinched to measure skin turgor. A dehydrated patient’s glabellar skin tends to remain “tented” rather than resume its normal flat state.

Read about the smooth skin of the brow in Drums of Autumn. Here, Ian paints Claire’s face with mud after the manner of his indigenous friends. As his finger passes between her eyebrows, the mud is spread over the glabella:

Ian hadn’t waited for the results of my dithering. He stooped and scraped up a small clot of earth, spat in it and stirred it to mud. Without comment, he dipped his forefinger into the puddle, and drew  a line from my forehead down the bridge of my nose.

“Ian!” 

“Shh,” he murmured, frowning in concentration. “Like this, I think.” He added two lines across each cheekbone, and a rough zigzag down the left side of my jawbone. 

See Marsali’s smooth glabella as she attends Fergus, watching him plan the jail break in Outlander ep 412, Providence. Go get ’em Fergus and Marsali!

A deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

Photo credit: Starz

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Fun Fact: Inflammation

Anatomy Def: Inflammation is the body’s defensive response to tissue injury.

Outlander Def: Claire’s aching marks after the scourging for witchcraft. 

Learn about inflammation in Anatomy Lesson #37, “Outlander Owies, Part 3 – Mars and Scars.”

Inflammation is an important defense mechanism the body employs to combat physical injury. There are two categories of inflammation:

  • acute inflammation – rapid but brief response to injury
  • chronic inflammation – prolonged response to injury (numerous types) 

Interestingly, acute inflammation is not the same as infection.  Inflammation can occur with or without the presence of infectious agents.

Fun Fact: Nearly 2,000 years ago, a Roman encyclopedist named Aulus Cornelius Celsus wrote extensively about medicine, pharmacy, surgery, agriculture, law and military arts. Although not a physician, he was the first to described four cardinal signs of acute inflammation. Rudolf Virchow, father of modern pathology, added a fifth. These signs in Latin, followed by their English equivalents, are:

  • Rubor = redness
  • Tumor = swelling
  • Calor = heat
  • Dolor = pain
  • Functio laesa = loss of or disturbance of function 

When tissues are injured (e.g. blow, burn, cut, abrasion, infection, etc.) inflammation quickly appears due to dramatic changes in small blood vessels of the injured region. The small vessels dilate and become leaky allowing fluid (plasma) and some types of white blood cells (WBC) to enter the injured tissues. The result: 

  • Increased blood flow causes redness 
  • Leaked plasma causes swelling 
  • escaped WBCs release chemicals inducing more redness, swelling, pain, and heat
  • Pain causes decreased use (function) of injured area

These responses may seem harmful and sometimes they are, but, overall, are designed to:

  • eliminate the cause of cell injury
  • remove damaged cells
  • pave the way for tissue repair

Try This: Do you have a cut or scratch? If not, the next time one arises,  observe the wound. You will likely note redness, swelling and pain. Gently place the wounded area against the skin of face or lip and detect increased temperature (heat). And, likely, you will avoid using that area until it heals (loss of function) because it hurts.  The five cardinal signs of inflammation!

Read about inflammation in Outlander book. Yes, it’s there! Claire and Mrs. Fitz share a significant convo over wounded Jamie. Although the word inflame  doesn’t appear for another 40 or 50 years (late 1700s), their exchange remains authentic – Mrs. F merely states she “understands” Claire’s “meaning.” So, all is well <G>: 

“But he’s hurt. He was shot yesterday and stabbed last night. I bandaged the wound for riding, but I didn’t have time to clean or dress it properly. I must care for it now, before it gets infected.” 

“Infected?” 

“Yes, that is, I mean, inflamed, you know, with pus and swelling and fever.” 

“Oh, aye, I know what ye mean. But do ye mean to say as ye know what to do for that? Are ye a charmer then? A Beaton?” 

“Something like that.” 

See the striking (no pun intended) marks on Claire’s back courtesy of the strap in Starz ep 111, The Devil’s Mark. Yep, inflammation, for sure! Thankfully, Jamie reassures her with these splendid words: 

“It won’t—” he began, then hesitated, “I mean, the cuts are not deep. I—I think you’ll no be … marked.” He spoke gruffly, but his touch was very gentle, and reduced me to tears once more.

Me, too! Sob! 

A deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

Photo credit: Starz