Tag: outlander

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Fun Fact: External Rotation

Anatomy def: External rotation is the act of rotating outwardly.

Outlander Def: Both shoulders pulled backward, Geilles languidly gazes to the left.… “Do ye favor my splendid finger painting, wee laddie? Och! Noooo! She scares the bejesus out of Young Ian.

Learn about external rotation in Anatomy Lesson #19, To Arms, Too Arms, Two Arms! 

Moving shoulder joints towards the spine (as in standing at attention) with palms facing forward and thumbs pointing outward is external rotation. (Moving shoulder joints toward the chest with palms facing backward and thumbs pointing toward the thighs is internal rotation.)

Try this: Stand before a mirror with arms at the sides. To execute external rotation of the shoulder joint: Turn palms forward with thumbs pointing outward.

Geillis’ shoulder joints are externally rotated even with hands on her hips, but they will rotate even further with arms at her sides and palms forward.

Wee Fun Fact: Our shoulder joints are the most moveable joints of the human body.

Read about Geillis seduction of Ian in Voyager book, wherein Ian describes her foul behavior in detail. This excerpt is suitable for work – other parts are not. Read the books! <G>

““I didna want to answer her, but I couldna seem to help myself. I felt verra warm, like I was fevered, and I couldna seem to move easy. But I answered all her questions, and her just sitting there, pleasant as might be, watching me close wi’ those big green eyes.’

…“She laughed then, and looked at me careful, and said as how I might not be such a loss, after all. If I was no good for what she had in mind, perhaps I might have other uses.’ ”

See The Witch’s bad behavior in Starz ep 312, The Bakra. Tsk. Tsk. No verra dignified, Mrs. Abernathy!

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo Credit: Sony/Starz

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Fun Fact: Carpal Bone

Anatomy def: Carpals are eight small bones forming the wrist.

Outlander def: Rocking aboard the Artemis, Claire checks her soaring temperature with the back of wrist. Oh, the lass is on fire! … psst … so is Jamie! He, he!

Learn about carpal bones in Anatomy Lesson #22 Jamie’s Hand – Symbol of Sacrifice. If time is short for a full lesson, consider watching my quickie hand lesson, courtesy of Outlander After the Show. This lesson streamed June 1, 2015, just after the airing of ep 116, Wentworth Prison. The  lesson begins at 16:42 in the following video. Thanks to hosts Keetin, Jen and Ryan for inviting me to discuss the hand’s splendid engineering!

Eight oddly-shaped carpal bones are arranged in two rows to form the wrist. The near row abuts forearm bones and the far row articulates with metacarpal bones. Carpal bones are named for their shapes:

  • scaphoid (boat)
  • lunate (crescent-shaped)
  • triquetrum (three-cornered)
  • pisiform (pea)
  • trapezium (table)
  • trapezoid (quadrilateral)
  • capitate (head-shaped)
  • hamate (hook-shaped)

Carpal bones are arranged in a shallow arch traversed by 9 tendons and a nerve. Small repetitive movements or fluid retention can create pressure on the nerve (median) as it passes through the arch causing tingling and numbness, symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Read about  carpal bones in Outlander book, wherein Claire amuses herself by likening streets and lanes of Cranesmuir to bones of forearm and hand. That Claire – always the doc.  That Diana – always the scientist. We love them!

In fact, I had amused myself on the ride to the smithy by imagining an aerial view of the village as a representation of a skeletal forearm and hand; the High Street was the radius, along which lay the shops and businesses and the residences of the more well-to-do. St. Margaret’s Lane was the ulna, a narrower street running parallel with the High, tenanted by smithy, tannery, and the less genteel artisans and businesses. The village square (which, like all village squares I had ever seen, was not square at all, but roughly oblong) formed the carpals and metacarpals of the hand, while the several lanes of cottages made up the phalangeal joints of the fingers.

See Claire’s wrist in action as she self-diagnoses in Starz Episode 311, Uncharted! Continue watching the episode to see what Jamie does to douse her fever. Wink, wink!

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo credit: Sony/Starz

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Fun Fact: Extensor Indicis

Anatomy def: Extensor indicis is a muscle of the extensor (back) forearm – its tendon extends (straightens) the index finger (pointer finger or forefinger).

Outlander def: Jamie’s pointer finger twitches madly as Claire and Jenny come face-to-face in their terse meet-and-greet. Tappity tap – a 20-year gap. Scary!

Learn about extensor indicis in Anatomy Lesson #23, Harming Hands – Helping Hands – Healing Hands.

Turns out, the index finger receives tendons from extensor indicis and extensor digitorum (covered in a earlier FF).  Both muscles lie in the back of forearm but the tendons cross the wrist and insert into bones of the index finger. The dual tendons straighten (extend) and lift the index finger, offering it greater strength in extension and more independent movement from the remaining three fingers.

Fun Fact: In US anatomy, the thumb is not counted as a finger, so index finger is the first. Across the pond, some European anatomists define the thumb as  the first finger, so index is counted as the second finger. Ergo, many surgeons prefer using: thumb, index, middle, ring and little fingers (or something similar) to omit possible mix-ups of finger numbers during surgery. Scary x2!

Rewatch Starz episode 308, First Wife, to see Jamie’s pointer finger flutter as he ponders the strain between first wife and big sista. Not good! 

Read about Jamie’s twitchy fingers in Voyager book. Actually, his tapping fingers appear in most of Diana’s books:  

I caught a quick glance passing between Ian and Jenny; and a longer stare, unreadable, exchanged between Jenny and Jamie. A stranger here in more ways than one, I kept my own eyes cast down, observing under the shelter of my lashes. Jamie sat to my left; I could feel the tiny movement between us as the two stiff fingers of his right hand drummed their small tattoo against his thigh.

See Big Red flutter his index finger in Starz episode 308, First Wife. Kebbie-lebbie at Lallybroch!

The deeply grateful,

Outlander Anatomist

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Photo credits: Sony/Starz