Tag: diana gabaldon

Posted on

Fun Fact: Anatomy of Ian’s Uniform!

Hallo, Outlander fans. Welcome to today’s Fun Fact: Anatomy of Ian’s Uniform! 

This Fun Fact is especially appropriate for Americans as May 16th is  also our national Armed Forces Day!  Pretty timely, no?

If you are like me, you are fascinated with Ian’s uniform in Outlander episode 512, Never My Love, the splendid finale of Season five! In Claire’s dissociative dreamscape, Ian arrives in full dress uniform for Thanksgiving dinner at the Fraser home! 🦃

I wanted to know more about Ian’s uniform, so I turned to Edward Maloney, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (retired) for assistance. Know that LTC Maloney is also a faithful, long-time fan of Outlander books and show and was more than willing to share his decades-long expertise in this matter.

Just so you know, Colonel Maloney’s former unit is the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army. Below is its beautiful and dramatic Distinctive Unit Insignia which reads “Rendezvous With Destiny!”

Addendum: I just learned “Hang Tough and Currahee!” is the Battle Cry of the 101st Airborne!  Hang tough means “in your parachute harness” and “Currahee” is from the Cherokee word meaning “We stand alone together.” (A good thought for soldiers trained to fight surrounded.)

Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Maloney, for your service!

 

So, grab a cuppa (or your fav beverage) and let’s learn about the anatomy of Ian’s uniform, courtesy of LTC Maloney!

Ian’s uniform indicates he belongs with the Infantry, the oldest branch of the US Army. When was this branch formed? Turns out, very close to the date  depicted in the Outlander S5 finale! 

On 14 June 1775, the Continental Congress authorized ten companies of riflemen, the first infantrymen.  Nine years later, the First American Regiment was constituted on 3 June 1784 and it was the 3rd Infantry. Currently, well over two hundred years old, clearly the Infantry is a distinguished branch of the US Army!

So, follow the colored arrows in the below images to discern the anatomical features of Ian’s uniform. (psst…The following image appears twice so you don’t have to keep moving up and down to follow the arrows and explanations!)

Let’s get on with the dissection! 😉

Blue Arrow:  A branch insignia on Ian’s L lapel displays two gold crossed muskets, overlying a disk of Saxony Blue. This insignia is unique to infantry and no other branch of the US Army is allowed this distinction.

The crossed muskets are vintage 1795 Springfields, the first official US shoulder arm made in a government arsenal:

    • caliber .69
    • flint lock
    • smooth bore
    • muzzle loader

 

 

Yellow Arrow: Above his L breast, Ian wears a Combat Infantryman’s Badge, unique to those who have served in combat. It is a single flint lock musket on a blue background. 

Green Arrow: Just above Ian’s L breast is a line of Decoration & Award Ribbons, also known as “fruit salad” or “Travel Ribbons.” These are worn in lieu of larger full-size or miniature medals which are awarded for service.  Here, the Ribbon is a line of Ian’s Mohawk beads! 

Gold Arrow:  Over Ian’s L breast is The Maltese Cross with a Bull’s-eye surrounded by a wreath, known as the Expert Marksman Badge. This badge is unique to Army and Marine Corps, although the designs differ. The suspended bars underneath the badge are added for each weapon the soldier qualifies as an expert, such as pistol, rifle, etc. 

White Arrow:  Worn on Ian’s L sleeve, the chevrons signify a soldier’s rank. Two chevrons indicate Corporal, the lowest Noncommissioned Officer Rank (NCO) who leads an infantry fire team. 

Violet Arrow: Ian’s service cap bears the US Coat of Arms. It is backed on a brass disk and in the case of infantrymen, backed by a Saxony Blue disk. 

Khaki Arrow: Ian’s Regimental Coat of Arms is worn above his R breast.  This insignia will indicate his permanent regiment not necessarily the one to which he is currently assigned. 

Tan Arrow: Also worn above his R breast, this insignia indicates a Unit award such as Presidential Unit Citation, Distinguished Unit Citation, etc. 

Next image,  we see Ian’s left shoulder!

Aqua arrow:  Indicates the Distinctive Unit Insignia which is usually a variation of the regiment’s coats of arms but unique to each regiment. This one looks like the 2nd Infantry Regiment but the colors are altered. 

Red Arrow:  L shoulder – Shoulder Sleeve Insignia  indicates the current unit of assignment – Ian serves with a Native American unit, the Mohawk. this insignia was created by Outlander.

And finally, Ian’s infantry blue cord or fourragere (below) is a military decoration worn over the right shoulder of all infantry-qualified US Army soldiers. 

Ian’s fourragere from afar.

And, a closeup. This is Ian’s fourragere in light blue, (dubbed “Infantry Blue” by the US Army), worn under the right shoulder and under the right epaulette of a US Army infantry soldier’s dress uniform jacket.

The cord is composed of a series of alternating left and right half knots that are tied around a leader cord to form a “Solomon bar”.

Fitting that Ian should wear his dress uniform for Thanksgiving, even if that bird is just an illusion!

In summary, Ian’s uniform tells us he is:

    • Infantryman
    • Decorated soldier
    • Served in combat
    • Expert marksman
    • Corporal of an infantry fire team
    • Bears US Coat of Arms for infantrymen on his service cap
    • Wears his permanent regiment’s Coat of Arms
    • Decorated infantryman
    • Member of a distinct infantry unit
    • Member of Native American unit
    • Qualified infantryman

Whew! I don’t know about you, but I am thoroughly impressed with warrior Ian!

And, I am deeply grateful for the men and women who serve in the US Armed Forces.

I could not have done this fun Fact without the aid of LTC Edward Maloney, US Army. Thanks to his expertise for this brief lesson exploring the anatomy of Ian’s US Army insignia!

I hope all Outlander fans, worldwide, will express their gratitude for the warriors who daily protect them, their families, and their homelands. Please take a quiet moment to honor them!

Disclaimer:  If there are any glitches in the insignia descriptions or attributions in this Fun Fact, the fault is entirely my own for not expressing the information with precision.

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

Follow me on:

Photo and Video Credits: Sony/Starz; Lt. Col. Edward Maloney; www.wikipedia.com; www.amazon.com

Posted on

Fun Fact: Sperms

Anatomy Def: Sperm is the male reproductive cell (gamete or spermatozoan).

Outlander Def: Wee toothless strivers with handsomely, thrashing tails! 😉

Hallo, anatomy students! 🤗

At this point in a Fun Fact, I typically provide a link to a prior anatomy lesson. Not here, because I have not written an Outlander Anatomy lesson about sperm.  However, I have taught many lectures on this topic to medical students. I have also provide many links in this FF in the event you want to learn more! 🧐

So, time for a quick mini-lesson on these amazing cells. I am sure most of you learned this stuff in prior biology classes, but a short review doesna hurt!

History: Dutch scientist, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1677), was the first to observe sperms using a primitive microscope (read more about Antonie and microscopes in Anatomy Lesson #37) .  He described sperms as “animalcules” (little animals), reasoning that each sperm contained a fully formed but very wee human.

Erm….not quite right, Antonie! 😜

Semen: Some dictionaries state that sperms are semen, but I prefer a more nuanced definition:  semen is the complex ejaculated fluid containing sperms plus an array of other products provided by accessory male sex organs (seminal vesicles, prostate, bulbourethral glands).

Size: Human sperm are much smaller than the female sex cell (ovum), a difference known as anisogamy. The ovum measures 0.1 mm (.039 inches). One of the body’s largest cells, it can be seen with the naked eye! 👁 From “nose to toes” sperm are about 55 𝞵m (0.002 inches). Ergo, an ovum is 20x the size of a sperm! 😲

Little wonder Claires loves that new lens from Lord John??? 🔬

Structure: Human sperms are structurally very complex. Put simply, during development, they are pared down to essential bits, rendering them hydrodynamic. Each sperm three main parts👇🏻:

    • Head – nucleus and acrosome
      • Nucleus – contains condensed chromatin (DNA), which when combined with an ovum’s DNA, creates a zygote (fertilized cell)
      • Acrosome – contains enzymes used to penetrate the ovum
    • Middle piece – contains spiral array of mitochondria for energy
    • Tail – a flagellum. One per sperm. This is a highly specialized structure that undergoes wave-like motions propelling it forward – it cannot “swim” backward! 🚫

Fun Fact: Stop for a moment and look to the top 👆🏻 for Jamie’s view through the microscope! See that some of the sperm have round heads and others show a teardrop-shaped head. This is not abnormal. Rather, these are two different views of the head: round from a front view and pointed from a side view.

In my opinion, heads are shaped a bit like the primary hull (dish) of the Starship, Enterprise! Hah!  😜

Now, look at this Scanning electron microscope image 👇🏻, an instrument allowing one to observe structures in three dimensions. Here, one can see the head from various positions and understand the difference in appearance depends on angle of view.

 

Longevity: This is a bit of a sticky wicket! Outside the human body, sperms die as soon as they dry out (They can be maintained for years in a frozen state).

However, in episode 511, Claire states that sperms can live up to a week if released into the “proper habitat.”

Now, most biologists agree that five days is considered the lifespan of sperms in the uterus. There is, however, a recent study (after Claire returned to Jamie) suggesting that sperms may survive longer than 10 days nestled in the folds of the cervical canal. However, this was a fertility study wherein females were plied with exogenous hormones which may influence outcome.

The truth is, the upper limit of sperm lifespan inside the female reproductive tract has yet to be determined, definitively. Stay tuned. Science marches on! 🤓

Fertility: A recent study screened 7,500 earlier studies evaluating sperm concentration and count. During this time period (1973-2011), men from Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand had a 52% decline in sperm concentration and a 59% decline in total sperm count!  In contrast, no significant decline was found in men from Asia, South America, and Africa (of possible significance, there were fewer studies for analysis from these regions). Worryingly, the rate of decline in Western men did not appear to slow even when the analysis was limited to studies from 1996 to 2011. Not good news! 😱

Now, if you would like to see a video of the wee feisty swimmers and fertilization, try this link, an excellent combination of CGI and actual footage!

https://youtu.be/BFrVmDgh4v4

Read about the busy “wee strivers” in The Fiery Cross, a delightful  ménage à trois involving Claire, Jamie, and Dr. Rawling’s microscope! 🤗

“Seeing things,” I said, adjusting the focus.

“Oh, aye? What sorts of things?” He came into the room, smiling. “Not ghosties, I trust. I will have had enough o’ those.”

“Come look,” I said, stepping back from the microscope. Mildly puzzled, he bent and peered through the eyepiece, screwing up his other eye in concentration.

He squinted for a moment, then gave an exclamation of pleased surprise.

“I see them! Wee things with tails, swimming all about!”

He straightened up, smiling at me with a look of delight, then bent at once to look again.

I felt a warm glow of pride in my new toy.

“Isn’t it marvelous?” “

Aye, marvelous,” he said, absorbed. “Look at them. Such busy wee strivers as they are, all pushing and writhing against one another—and such a mass of them!”

He watched for a few moments more, exclaiming under his breath, then straightened up, shaking his head in amazement.

“I’ve never seen such a thing, Sassenach. Ye’d told me about the germs, aye, but I never in life imagined them so! I thought they might have wee teeth, and they don’t—but I never kent they would have such handsome, lashing wee tails, or swim about in such numbers.”

“Well, some microorganisms do,” I said, moving to peer into the

eyepiece again myself. “These particular little beasts aren’t germs, though—they’re sperms.”

“They’re what?”

He looked quite blank.

“Sperms,” I said patiently. “Male reproductive cells. You know, what makes babies?”

I thought he might just possibly choke. His mouth opened, and a very pretty shade of rose suffused his countenance.

“Ye mean seed?” he croaked. “Spunk?” “

Well … yes.” Watching him narrowly, I poured steaming tea into a clean beaker and handed it to him as a restorative. He ignored it, though, his eyes fixed on the microscope as though something might spring out of the eyepiece at any moment and go writhing across the floor at our feet.

“Sperms,” he muttered to himself. “Sperms.” He shook his head vigorously, then turned to me, a frightful thought having just occurred to him. “Whose are they?” he asked, his tone one of darkest suspicion.

“Er … well, yours, of course.” I cleared my throat, mildly embarrassed. “Who else’s would they be?”

His hand darted reflexively between his legs, and he clutched himself protectively.

“How the hell did ye get them?”

How do ye think, Jamie? 😉

See the “handsomely lashing, wee tails” in the splendid Outlander episode 511, Journeycake!

Thank you, Diana Gabaldon, for a splendid chapter and a splendid episode!

Fascinating topic – sperm!

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

Follow me on:

Photo and Video Credits: Sony/Starz; www.123RF.com www.sciencephoto.com; www.nucleusmedicallmedia.com 

 

Posted on

Fun Fact: Inflame

 

Anatomy Def: To inflame is the body’s response to injury.

Outlander Def: Ow! Jamie’s puir, inflamed leg after the horrid fang-bang! 🐍

Learn about inflammation in Anatomy Lesson #37, “Outlander Owies – Mars and Scars.” Just to be clear, inflammation is the process of being inflamed. 

Inflammation is an crucial defense mechanism the body employs to combat physical injury.  There are two main types:

    • Acute – rapid but short-lived response to injury
    • chronic – prolonged response to injury (different types) 

Just so you know, acute inflammation is not the same as infection, although these may occur simultaneously.   

Fact: Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Roman, Aulus Cornelius Celsus, wrote prolifically about medicine, pharmacy, surgery, agriculture, law and military arts! 😲 Celsus was not a physician, but he was the first to described the four cardinal signs of acute inflammation. Later, in the 19th century, Rudolf Virchow, the father of modern pathology, added a fifth.

The five signs, in Latin, followed by their English equivalents, are:

    • Rubor = redness
    • Tumor = swelling
    • Calor = heat
    • Dolor = pain
    • Functio laesa = loss of function (Virchow)

How does inflammation happen? It is a process rather than an event. Simply put, if tissues sustain an injury, inflammation quickly appears due to dramatic changes in small blood vessels of the injured region. Blood flow increases. Small vessels become leaky allowing fluid (plasma) and some white blood cells (WBC) to enter the injured tissues. So:

    • Increased blood flow causes redness 
    • Leaked plasma causes swelling 
    • Leaked WBCs release chemicals that induce more redness, swelling, pain, and increased temperature (heat)
    • Finally, pain causes decreased function of the injured area (Ouch! Using it hurts!)

Inflammation may seem harmful, and sometimes it is, but it is designed to:

    • Eliminate the cause of tissue injury
    • Remove damaged cells
    • Pave the way for tissue repair

Just to be complete, a venomous snake bite usually produces (there can be other symptoms depending on venom):

    • Severe burning pain at the site 
    • Swelling
    • Redness and bruising all the way up arm or leg
    • Nausea
    • Labored breathing
    • Weakness
    • Odd taste in mouth

Try This: The next time you get cut or scratched, look carefully at the wound for redness and swelling. Is it painful? Gently place the wounded area against the lip to detect an increase in temperature. Yup, there are the four signs. And, if you are like most folks, you will avoid using that area until it heals, hence, loss of function!

Read about Jamie’s inflamed leg in The Fiery Cross! Yes, it’s in there!

“That’s enough, aye?” Jamie said mildly. “You’ll drain me dry.” He gingerly wiggled his bared foot, grimacing at his leg. The slashmarks were vivid, still oozing blood, and the flesh around them was swollen from the sucking, blotched and bruised.

The leg was noticeably swollen near the bite, and the blue tinge had spread; it showed like a faint fresh bruise on either side of the encircling handkerchief.

See Jamie’s inflamed thigh in Outlander episode 509, Monsters and Heroes! Och, this is only the start of his thigh-high response to that vicious fang-bang! Monster, indeed!!! 😳

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

Follow me on:

Photo Credits: Sony/Starz