Got ants in your pants? Meet Claire’s ferocious foes tomorrow in Anatomy Lesson #55, Formidable Formicidae!
A deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
Fun Fact: axis
Starz episode 313 Eye of the Storm
Anatomy def: The axis is the second cervical (C2) vertebra, situated near the top of spine but below the atlas (C1 vertebra). As the head rotates from side-to-side, skull and C1 pivot as a single unit around the axis.
Outlander def: Mistress Abernathy didna see Claire grab that machete! Else, her head would have twisted wildly from side-to-side, as in NO-NO (she is a twisted sista <G>)! Claire, the surgeon, kens proper use of a blade. Here, “off with her head” takes on a whole new meaning!
Learn about the axis vertebra in Anatomy Lesson #53, Dr. Abernathy Meets Pretty Lady and also in Anatomy Lesson #12, Claire’s Neck or The Ivory Tower.
Read about the axis vertebra in Voyager book. Yes, Herself explains that a dull blade was used to hack through segments of the axis, removing pretty lady’s head! Here in Dr. Abernathy ’s office:
The wide body of the axis had a deep gouge; the posterior zygapophysis had broken clean off, and the fracture plane went completely through the centrum of the bone.
Joe’s finger moved over the line of the fracture plane. “See here? The bone’s not just cracked, it’s gone right there. Somebody tried to cut this lady’s head clean off. With a dull blade,” he concluded with relish.
See Claire cleave off the witch’s head at the axis in Starz episode 313, Eye of the Storm. Two hundred years in the future, Claire and Geillis will meet again – when Mistress Abernathy is nothing more than “dem bones!”
A deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
Fun Fact: Gluteus Maximus
Anatomy def: Gluteus maximus is the most superficial muscle of each rump cheek. Buttock contour is underpinned by three gluteal muscles (the glutes) of which gluteus maximus is largest and greatest. The extremely important Gluteus maximus::
- extends the thigh backward
- rotates the thigh outward
- maintains the trunk in an upright position
Outlander def: Mistress Abernathy’s sensuous curve compels Ian’s horrified gaze as she washes away the gout of goat’s blood! Gluteus maximus underlies that seductive right buttock. He may be no a virgin, but wee Ian is petrified – the Bakra is not fair Brighidat of the print shop (nor Mary of Voyager book)! Yikes!
The Blood Bath! Let’s momentarily diverge from this Fun Fact to ask, could Geillis really bathe in a font filled with goat’s blood? Well, scientifically speaking, it depends.
- No, not if the blood went directly from goats to the font – it would quickly clot leaving Geillis to soak in blood pudding!
- Yes, if salt or vinegar were added to the blood, as these culinary anticoagulants likely rest in the cupboards of Rose Hall!
- The cost? Staggering! It would take 169.5, 70-pound goats to produce 100 gallons (303 liters) of blood and her sunken tub is a big ‘un! That’s a huge herd to sacrifice – Annekje Johansen would croak, not to mention Father Fogden! Meh!
Now, back to our Fun Fact!
Learn about gluteus maximus in Anatomy Lesson #1: Jamie’s Tush or Bottom’s Up!. Yes, the very first anatomy lesson published in October 2014! Jamie’s bottom including his gluteus maximus are admired from a purely scientific perspective!
Read about buttocks in Voyager book. Turns out, buttocks are Herself’s fav body parts to describe! Grand choice, Diana! <G>
He was naked, his back turned to me as he stood in front of the chamber pot he had just pulled from its resting place beneath the washstand. I admired the squared roundness of his buttocks, the small muscular hollow that dented each one, and their pale vulnerability.
See Mistress Abernathy’s gluteus maximus form the lovely contour of her right buttock in Starz episode 312, The Bakra!
A deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist