castle leoch – Page 3 – Outlander Anatomy

January 7, 2015December 1, 2019

Anatomy Lesson 10: “Jamie’s Back!”

Anatomy Lesson #10: The Back.

Happy New Year to all of you! I’m a wee bit late posting this because I just returned from my trip to Fraser’s Ridge country. It was a verra beautiful region. I can see why Jamie and Claire made their home there.

Welcome to all newcomers and thanks to all those returning to learn about Anatomy Lesson #10: The Back. Because our red-haired hero is so utterly braw, I will use many images of Jamie to teach this verra important topic.

Claire first sees Jamie’s back in Starz episode 102, Castle Leoch, as she removes the blanket to clean his gunshot wound. Herself writes in Outlander book:

“I had finished the bandaging and stood quiet behind him, a hand resting on his good shoulder… His upper back was covered with a crisscross of faded white lines. He had been savagely flogged, and more than once. There were small lines of silvery scar tissue in some spots, where the welts had crossed, and irregular patches where several blows had struck the same spot, flaying off skin and gouging the muscle beneath.”

Then says Jamie:

“Lobsterbacks. Flogged me twice in the space of a week. They’d ha’ done it twice the same day, I expect, were they not afraid of killing me. No joy in flogging a dead man.”

I wish I could work off a blank canvas of Jamie’s back before it was scarred by that mad bastard Randall! Fact is we have only a brief and limited glimpse at Lallybroch (Starz episode 102, Castle Leoch) as Black Jack administers his first whipping of our brave hero. Ugh!

Now, take a wee gander at Jamie’s back after the first blow. The blue arrows mark welts or wheals! Our Starz Jamie has verra fair skin and these swellings appear to be real. Wheals are typically initiated by an allergic response or tough handling such as pressure, blows or friction. Mayhap Jamie was handled a wee bit roughly during this scene?

Back: Now, in anatomy, the human back is defined as the large area from the base of the head to the tail bone (Photo A). It is widest at the shoulders, narrows at the rib cage and ends as a “V” between the buttocks. The topographical (surface) anatomy of a well-muscled back displays a mess of lumps, bumps and valleys created by underlying muscles, etc.

The two black arrows in Photo A mark a prominent vertical midline groove, the posterior median furrow. You should also understand that for protection, back skin is thicker and has fewer nerve endings than, for example, belly or chest skin. It is also an area that we cannot typically see or touch without aid of mirrors, photos, or yoga practices. Namaste!

Photo A

Now, sans the skin, let’s take a peek at the superficial structures creating back contour (Photo B). The paired trapezius muscles (Anatomy Lesson #3) cover the upper back. You recall they take origin (begin) from bones of the skull and spine but they insert (end) on clavicle and scapula; acting together or separately, they these bones. Latissimus dorsi muscles cover the lower back. They also take origin from bones of the back but insert on and move the humeral bones (Anatomy lesson #2). Gluteus maximus and Gluteus medius (Anatomy lesson #1) muscles appear to be part of the back but they form most of the buttocks and belong to the lower limbs. The V-shaped depression at the base of the spine (white area) is the thoracolumbar fascia flanked by the gluteal muscles and iliac crests. The thoracolumbar fascia is a strong sheet of collagen that gives origin to back and abdominal muscles (cover in a later post). The iliac crest forms the top of each hip bone. The vertical midline groove (see Photo A) is created by the spine as it adheres to the dermis of the skin (Anatomy Lesson #5 & Anatomy Lesson #6).

Photo B

Removal of the superficial back muscles exposes the deeper erector spinae muscles (Photo C). They attach to the spine and ribs. In the physically fit, they are visible as thick longitudinal columns of muscle flanking each side of the spine. Their function is to arch or extend and rotate the spine (see below). Again, although seemingly part of the back, the buttocks and their gluteal muscles are actually parts of the lower limbs.

Photo C

The length of the back is determined by the spine or vertebral column which extends from the base of the skull to the tail bone (green in Photo D).

Photo D

The vertebral column forms the bony central axis of the back (Photo E). Five regions are identified from the cephalic end (Greek meaning head) to the caudal end (Latin meaning tail): cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and coccygeal. There are 7 cervical (C 1-C7), 12 thoracic (T1-T12), 5 lumbar (L1-L5), 5 sacral (S1-S5) and 4 coccygeal (Co 1-Co4) for a total of 33 vertebrae (Photo E).

Photo E

A typical vertebra (some are atypical) shows the following main features (photo F): a spinous process that projects posteriorly and provides ligament and muscle attachments; a cylindrical body that is flanked top and bottom by intervertebral (IV) discs; paired transverse processes (black arrows) that provide for muscle and ligament attachments; and a hole known as a vertebral foramen.

Photo F

The vertebrae of an intact spine are aligned and held in check by numerous powerful ligaments, connective tissue bands that link bone to bone (Photo G – don’t fash about their names).

Photo G

This arrangement makes the vertebral column strong, flexible and springy! It also allows for a considerable amount of movement including lateral (side bending) flexion, twisting (rotation), and anterior (forward) flexion (Photo H):

Photo H

And, for spinal extension (Photo I):

Photo I

Vertebral alignment also converts individual vertebral foramina into a vertebral canal that houses and protects the spinal cord. Photo J is a schematic of the spinal cord inside the vertebral canal (only a few vertebrae are numbered). The colored coded regions give rise to spinal nerves issuing in pairs from cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and coccygeal levels of the spinal cord; the nerves supply structures of the neck, trunk, upper limbs and lower limbs.

Photo J

The thoracic vertebrae are unusual in that they are directly anchored to the ribs and indirectly to the sternum (breast bone). This arrangement provides great stability and allows anterior flexion but little other movement (Photo K). Ribs in the image below are numbered but the thoracic vertebrae are not. Know that T1 vertebra articulates with the 1^st pair of ribs and so on.

Photo K

Here’s an interestin’ tidbit: as bipedal humans, our spines transform during life. With infants, the entire spine is flexed anteriorly (Photo L – purple line).

Photo L

As we lift our heads, sit up and walk, four alternating curvatures develop that are readily apparent in the adult spine. The cervical and lumbar vertebrae curve posteriorly – the thoracic and sacral vertebrae curve anteriorly (Photo M – spine viewed from the left side).

Photo M

Take a deep breath and enjoy this image o’ Jamie’s back: ye can clearly see his thoracic and lumbar curvatures as well as the deep midline groove flanked by impressive columns of his erector spinae muscles (Starz episode 105, Rent). And, thank ye verra much but from now on, he’ll be mending his own shirt – since his tender Uncle Dougal keeps tearing it off in front of strangers! He doesn’t care if the lad wears rags from now on!

Now, Claire who makes love to Jamie with her eyes (and other stuff too) throughout all the Outlander books, observes that Jamie’s back is “as straight as an alder sapling.” She doesna mean that he lacks the four curvatures; she means that he holds his back upright and erect…good muscle tone, aye? Here’s a great example of Jamie’s back while playing with the fillies (Starz episode 2, Castle Leoch). Snort!

And, och, while giving the Watch the slip (Starz episode 5, Rent)!

And one of my personal favorites where Jamie strides away from Claire after telling her that it is he who is virgin (Starz episode 106 The Garrison Commander)! One of them better ken what they’re doing! That put a wee gleam in Claire’s eye!

Now back ta anatomy. Another interesting tidbit about the vertebral column: at birth, the wedge-shaped sacrum consists of five separate vertebrae. Fusion begins in adolescence and ends about 30+ years explaining why the adult sacrum is counted as five vertebrae. Also, the sides of the sacrum articulate (form a joint) with each hip bone at the sacroiliac (SI) joints (Photo N – red arrows) to create a rigid pelvis. The purple arrows mark bilateral bony elevations o’ the hip bones known as the posterior superior iliac spines (PSIS).

Photo N

The PSIS are also sites where the dermis adheres to underlying bone forming the so-called dimples of Venus (Photo O):

Photo O

Although the dimples appear in countless nude images, it turns out they aren’t just beauty marks; they are superficial and easily used for bone marrow aspirations (Photo P).

Photo P

Hold on to your chair! Claire shows her dimples of Venus in this scene from Starz episode 107, The Wedding (red arrows)! Here, Claire guides Jamie’s hands to her hips and he starts to put his right fingers over her left dimple! Gasp, I think I just stopped breathing – need CPR STAT!

I cannot find any images of Jamie’s dimples of Venus but, aye, he’s got ‘em. It is just that they are absorbed into paired grooves where his lumbosacral fascia meets his very well-developed gluteus maximus and medius muscles (see Anatomy Lesson #1)! His butt muscles are so powerful that they create a groove on each side of the sacrum (Starz episode 105, Rent). Mmhm!

Now, this lesson must visit Jamie’s scourging by the Mad Man of Fort William! It breaks my heart to watch this episode (Starz episode 106, The Garrison Commander), but it is needful to understand. The harsh treatment of Jamie is not only a personal tragedy but is a harbinger of the approaching battle of Culloden and the subsequent crushing by the Redcoats of the Highlander way of life. You ken that Jamie had already received 100 lashes for trying to escape afore BJR decides he‘s due 100 more! The first strike of the whip causes the blood to flow freely because BJR is using the infamous Cat ‘o Nine Tails with lead weights at the tips! He means to bleed Jamie to the bone (You understand that if he had actually done so, Jamie would have been disabled or perhaps dead?)

Ye can see why Jamie dubs him that “mad bastard Randall.” Just take a keek at Randall’s face and eyes. This is hard work, right? And just in case you didn’t notice, the blurry figure in the background is Black Brian, Jamie’s father, so named because of the color of his hair whereas BJR is named for the color of his soul!

By the end, Jamie’s back looks like haggis. Little wonder he could barely sit astride a horse after his friends made shift to rescue him!

Herself provides another intimate appraisal of Jamie’s back in the Outlander book. Here, Jamie removes his shirt in Claire’s surgery after leaving Gwyllyn’s performance. The dressing is chaffing him and he asks her to remove it. Claire observes:

“He sat patiently, not moving as I circled behind him and inspected his back…I was appalled…The scars covered his entire back from shoulders to waist. While many had faded to little more than thin white lines, the worst formed thick silver wedges, cutting across the smooth muscles. I thought with some regret that it must have been quite a beautiful back at one time. His skin was fair and fresh, and the lines of bone and muscle were still solid and graceful, the shoulders flat and square-set and the backbone a smooth, straight groove cut deep between the rounded columns of muscle that rose on either side of it…I tried not to imagine the muscular arms raised…ropes cutting into wrists, the coppery head pressed hard against the post in agony…Involuntarily, I reached out, as though I might heal him with a touch and erase the marks with my fingers. He sighed deeply, but didn’t move as I traced the deep scars, one by one, as though to show him the extent of the damage he couldn’t see.“

Now, I must confess, this post wasn’t much fun because of its grim topic but history teaches us important lessons. During the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), soldiers in the British Army could receive up to 1,200 lashes, a number that could permanently disable or kill a man. The US followed a similar code and neither country abolished scourging until the late 19^th century – a blot on both nations to be sure as scourging is intended to demean, humiliate and permanently scar its victims.

Flogging was also used during the US slavery period. The next photo taken at Baton Rouge in 1863 shows the back of Gordon (Photo Q), a scourged slave. His scars are pronounced because of keloid formation.

Photo Q

Lastly, let’s consider the importance of the back, the single largest canvas of the human body. It is the basis for many sayings focused on this area of vulnerability giving rise to idioms such as: “your back is against the wall”, “stab one in the back”, “friends have one’s back”, “watch one’s back” and “back off”. The back is also a symbol of strength and hard work, as in “back to work”, “strong back” and “put your back into it”. Indeed, the practice of showing explicitness on the back has been practiced for centuries through clothing, no clothing, art, tattoos and, in Jamie’s case, flogging.

The back can also be used to telegraph emotion. In the next image, Claire has just snubbed Jamie (Starz episode 105, Rent) because he said her face plainly showed that she was thinking of running like she tried at the gathering. Well, she did ask, but Jamie doesn’t like the brush off so he flaps his plaid over his back in annoyance. It’s very funny! See Claire “back” there? She just slipped into her tent. Darn woman…doesn’t know what’s billowing behind her back!

OK, that’s it for the back. Next time I will post on a lighter topic…like Claire, I promise!

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo Credits: Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy 4^th ed., Netter’s Atlas of Human Embryology, 1^st edition, Hollingshead’s Textbook of Anatomy, 5^th ed., Starz, ainsleyjason.wordpress.com, www.sportsmed.or.nz, www.Radiopaedia.org, www.wikihow.com, www.Wikipedia.org, www.massgeneral.org, www.faculty.washington.edu, www.wikipedia.com, www.momarock.wordpress.com, www.imueos.wordpress.com, www.forums.hardwarezone.com.sq, www.pedsoncologyeducation.com, www.stemcelldoc.wordpress.com, www.hercampus.com, www.prevention.com

December 9, 2014September 3, 2015

Anatomy Lesson 8: “Jamie Takes a Beating and Claire’s Healing Touch”

Anatomy Lesson #8: Solar plexus, Respiratory Diaphragm, Kidneys and Cheekbone

Now, that’s a whole lot of anatomy, but dinna get into a swivet; this lesson is dictated by Rupert’s beating of Jamie. Well, now, Jamie is a warrior who has a knack for getting himself into a mess o’ messes. Claire is a warrior too, only her battle field is healing!

Getting started, let’s review the healing Claire has given thus far for young Jamie – showing that she is a real Healer-Dealer and how that rascal Rupert undoes some of her warrior work!

In Starz episode #1, Sassenach, Murtagh captures Claire on Saturday – likely the same day Jamie dislocates his shoulder. Several hours pass before Claire reduces Jamie’s shoulder (see Anatomy Lesson #2). “Tá Dia (I think this is what he says) – it doesna hurt anymore!” exclaims Jamie. Ha, the Highlanders hadna a clue that a feral Sassenach cat could perform such miracles!

Claire and her captors ride through Saturday night and into Sunday when Jamie is shot at Cocknammon Rock (See Anatomy Lesson #3). Later that night, after fainting from lack of blood, Claire securely binds his wound so he doesna have to stay and determine his own fate wit’ a loaded pistol (Starz episode #1, Sassenach).

On Monday they arrive at Castle Leoch (Starz episode #2, Castle Leoch). Claire insists on properly cleaning and dressing Jamie’s gunshot wound (See Anatomy Lesson #3), all the while conducting a thorough counseling session fer the sad-lad! She also binds his right arm to his chest (thorax in anatomy) to immobilize the freshly reduced shoulder joint. What a caregiver!

On Tuesday (Starz episode #2, Castle Leoch), Claire brings Jamie comfort in the form of lunch and fresh bandages but accidentally upsets his work at the stables. Jamie falls to his knees. Oooh, this clearly hurts his pride and mayhap messes a wee bit wit’ his injured shoulder? Oops, Claire better watch that hip padding – it gets in the way! After lunch, true confessions and a good deal of “facetime,” Claire begs Jamie not to get stabbed or flogged today.

By Friday, after having been a good lad fer far too long Jamie gallantly steps forth at the Hall to take punishment for “damn-her-eyes” LiarHair who clearly has been a verra bad lassie (Starz episode #2, Castle Leoch). Ye’ll ken this is about six days after his shoulder dislocation and only five days since his gunshot wound! This is important because at this point new blood vessels are growing (angiogenesis), cells are dividing (mitosis) and collagen is forming (fibrogenesis) to help heal pulled ligaments and strained muscles; everything in Jamie’s shoulder is tender and sore. But, braw showman that he is, he chooses fists no the strap!

Laird Colum allows it. Rupert will administer the fisticuffs delivering two consecutive blows to Jamie’s belly!

Now for some anatomy! Both blows strike Jamie in the pit of the stomach (Photo A). This type of blow affects three major regions of the body: the belly wall, the solar plexus and the diaphragm.

Photo A

As I will cover the belly wall in a future post, I won’t describe its full anatomy now. Suffice it to say that it is defined by the blue area seen in Photo B. In a warrior like Jamie, whose belly is very strong, two punches will not do much real damage. But consider the gut punch BJR gives Claire (Starz episode 6, The Garrison Commander) along with the belly kick by his weenie gopher. I suspect that Claire’s corset stays, several undergarments and that fabulous pleated tartan gown kept any real damage to a minimum; ye ken that each pleat includes three layers of wool? (Aye, Terry and her team create such splendid garments!)

Photo B

Now, just behind the stomach lies the solar plexus (Photo C – surface anatomy), so named because it resembles a sunburst; anatomists call it the celiac (coeliac) plexus.

Photo C

To understand the celiac plexus, let’s first visit the aorta the largest artery of the human body (Photo D – posterior abdominal wall – from the front with organs removed). It begins in the chest, pierces the diaphragm and enters the abdominal cavity where it lies in front of the spine.

Photo D

The celiac plexus (Photo E – black arrows) wraps the front and sides of the abdominal aorta. The white blobs in Photo E are ganglia, swellings that house nerve cell bodies. The white strings are nerves; arising from the cell bodies they connect with other ganglia and supply organs (viscera). The nerves cause viscera to contract or secrete and also carry pain sensation back to the central nervous system. A blow to the belly can bruise the stomach, shock the celiac plexus, cause pain and potentially interfere with visceral function.

Photo E

Finally, the last body part vulnerable to a belly blow is the thoracic diaphragm, a dome-shaped sheet of muscle and tendon between the chest and the abdominal cavities that sits surprisingly high under the rib cage (Photo F – from the front showing cut edge of diaphragm). It is attached to the inner surfaces of breast bone, ribs and vertebrae and is a powerful muscle of respiration: as we breathe in (inspire) it descends, as we breathe out (expire) it rises. Blows to the belly wall cause temporary paralysis of the thoracic diaphragm making breathing difficult – the sensation of “getting the wind knocked out of you” and perhaps the most uncomfortable part of a gut punch! The spasm is accompanied by pain, anxiety and difficulty sitting or standing. But, as with Jamie, the spasm passes, breathing resumes and equanimity is restored.

Photo F

Moving on…Rupert circles around to Jamie’s back and delivers a third blow causing him to stagger! As ye well ken, this is a kidney punch and it is verra painful!

The kidneys are paired bean-shaped organs that produce urine, extract wastes, balance body fluids and are vital for normal life! Each day they filter about 189 liters (200 qt) of blood but produce only about 1.89 liters (2 qt) of urine because normally most all the fluid is resorbed. The urine flows into paired ureters then to the urinary bladder and is subsequently voided through the unpaired urethra (Photo G).

Photo G

A blow to the kidney is painful but not always serious (unless, of course, Claire’s stabbing ye in the back wit’ her sgian dubh!). Why? Weel, because the 11^th & 12^th ribs protect much of the left kidney and 12^th rib protects part of the right (Photo H – from the back; kidney outlines shown as dashed lines). Also, strong back muscles absorb energy from a kidney punch. Kidney injury from blunt trauma ranges from bruising to serious tearing of tissues. Just so ye ken, blood in the urine is a good indicator of kidney trauma and the kidney punch is one of the meanest places to whack an opponent – although our fiery hero doesn’t seem that worse for wear.

Photo H

By now Rupert is sweating. So he checks wit’ his heid, “Dougal the Devil Man” ta see if it’s time to stop. Now, we all ken that Dougal is Colum’s war chief. So, take a peek at his menacing stance – splayed legs all covered wit’ his shiny high top boots. But, Dougal has no problem wi’ his nephew getting hurt and hurt badly. After all, the lad is still standing at this point and standin’ in the way of his best-laid plans. So Uncle Dougal directs Rupert to land a 4^th blow – this time to Jamie’s face and blood splatters the slates. As there is another punch coming to Jamie’s face, I’m saving facial anatomy until blow #6! Read on!

Hey, now, I thought the beating was supposed to stop once blood was drawn. Geillis says so and we all know she never lies. Next, Rupert hauls back and lands a mighty one ta Jamie’s right shoulder!

So, what was Claire thinking through all this physical plundering? Herself writes in Outlander:

“I was in agony of apprehension, lest one of the blows re-damage the wounded shoulder…”

Too late Claire…Och, Rupert, that was brutal, man!

Time fer more anatomy, heh. The shoulder blow is bad news because there’s nay been enough time for the wounds to have healed properly. The next photo shows the proper alignment of a normal glenohumeral joint (Photo I: x-ray right shoulder). Part of the humeral head (red arrow) sits in the glenoid cavity of the scapula (blue arrow).

Photo I

Nearly a week earlier Jamie suffered an anterior dislocation of the glenohumeral joint (Photo J: x-ray right shoulder). Here, the humeral head (red arrow) is typically displaced forward (anterior) and down (inferior) from the glenoid cavity (blue arrow) as shown in the following x-ray. Claire restored the normal anatomy of the joint, but as we learned earlier, the whole area remains inflamed and tender. Ouch! It hurts just ta look at it.

Photo J

Finally, Rupert delivers the last punch to Jamie’s face and knocks him to the ground!

Now, ye best understand the damage these facial blows can cause! In anatomy, the cheek bone is the zygomatic arch (Photo K). With color-coded skull bones, ye can clearly see that the zygomatic arch is made of two bones: the pink part belongs to the temporal bone and the orange part to the zygomatic bone. The two bones meet at a jagged suture (non-moveable joint). Although strong, the suture is at risk for fracture.

Photo K

Also, the zygomatic bone forms the outer rim of the bony orbit where the eye is housed (Photo L). Both zygomatic arch and bony orbit are subcutaneous structures (see Anatomy Lesson #5 – The Skin) and vulnerable to injury. The fact that Rupert’s blow didn’t fracture either of these bony areas is probably due to the fact that Jamie’s head is harder than an iron pot – or so says his sister Jenny!

Photo L

After the beating, Murtagh helps our hero out of the hall but not afore Jamie casts a look at Claire: “Sassenach., I need you!” Well, that does it. Claire has ta’ git outta that Hall – NOW! Make way, Geillis! Ah, have patience Claire, a few more weeks and ye’re going ta get all the healing touches of Jamie ye want. Lucky Lady!

Soon enough, Claire tenderly soothes Jamie’s bruises: he’ll be sore for a couple of days, but he’s no really damaged. She is dying ta know why he took Miss LongHare’s punishment! In Outlander book Jamie answers Claire:

“Why not me?”…Why not? I wanted to say. Because you didn’t know her, she was nothing to you. Because you were already hurt. Because it takes something rather special in the way of guts to stand up in front of a crowd and let someone hit you in the face, no matter what your motive.”

Friends, if you have yet to read the marvelous Outlander books, I urge ye to do so as well as follow the Starz episodes! There are lots more to these vignettes than can fit into a 60 minute episode!

Then Claire delivers the sad news that tomorrow (Saturday) she is headed back to Inverness with Pitre the tinker! Jamie groans as he stands to say farewell. He is devastated. Are ye sobbin’ yet? He is!

Ah…breathe a sigh of relief – fate has a surprise in store fer Mistress Beauchamp. Yep, Colum and his lil’ Big Bad Bro willna let her go wit’ the tinker. Claire has to stay and take her own Beaton – er, the surgery I mean – that little “chamber of horrors” needs her healing touch too!

Now, looking fer remnants of Jamie’s beating – were the continuity detailers attending to details? Yep, they were. Many films show heroes beaten within an inch of their lives but they emerge moments later wit’ nary a scratch – keeps me up at night!

Here’s a great example. Did ye see Jamie hobble along wit his right arm drooping as the Teenage Trollop hauls him into an alcove ta have her way wit’ him (Starz episode 3, The Way Out)? Yep, he’s still hurting after that thrashing!

At the pillory (Starz episode 3, The Way Out), we glimpse a dark shadow over his zygomatic arch (red arrow) and mayhap a bit o’ black eye as he helps Claire from a feigned swoon – she who canna stand the sight of blood. Hah. Looks like a big old nasty bruise ta me! Verra nice.

Finally, at the Black Kirk, Claire gives Jamie a botany 101 class explaining the difference between wood garlic and its deadly look-a-like, lily of the valley. This time we see up close the mottled bruising o’er Jamie’s zygomatic arch. Ahhh…he does have a lovely arch does he not?

I’ll leave ye now with three wonderful images from Starz episode 3, The Way Out. At Gwyllyn the Bard’s performance, Claire is deep into Colum’s Rhenish. Ever watchful Jamie escorts her safely to her Beaton dungeon under the guise of needing help wit’ his bandage. Jamie, ye are the man! Claire decides to check his gunshot wound anyway and starts ta take off his clothes -weel, she just unties his stock and unbuttons his shirt but…Gah!

She pulls back the bandage: “Scabbed over nicely; no drainage.” She isna going ta let Jamie leave her surgery without feeling his fair, fresh skin. After all she is the healer and she is in charge!

And, what is young Jamie’s thinking wit’ Claire half undressing him and putting her bonny fingers on him? Weel, look at his face. Ha’ mercy, lass! Ye are making it verra hard for the puir man. Snort! Jamie, he is silently taking’ the MacKenzie oath – only backwards. Jamie, man, ye BURN not shine!

OK, that does it fer this anatomy lesson. Thanks for joining me as we explored how Jamie’s wounds ne’er fail to bring on Claire’s healing touch! Hope ye all are hunkering down as the winter solstice approaches (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway).

And fer those who are new to my blog, a note of explanation: I follow the convention of using the character’s names rather than the Starz actor’s names. This gives the cast at least one degree of separation and a wee bit o’ respect as I dissect their bodies with words! I hope ye all understand!

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The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

Images courtesy of: Starz, www.wikihow.com, www.wikipedia.org, Kidney Health Australia, radiopaedia.org, Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy 4^th ed., Hollingshead’s Textbook of Anatomy, 5^th ed.