Bodies, we all have them. I don’t know about you, but I mostly find them to be confusing and upsetting. They don’t always work as you want them to and they’re composed of a seemingly infinite array of miserable, underperforming components. I frequently look at people walking down Middle Path and feel pangs of emptiness and regret because for the life of me I can’t seem to understand how all of those messy little pieces work together and move the way they do.

This semester I’ve been finding a great deal of comfort in my BIOL 321: Organ Taxonomy class. Who knew that there were names for so many of the frightening and complicated pieces of my weird body! I have yet to grasp the basics of human locomotion, but at least I now have something to call several of those mysterious flesh items.

1. Reach Sticks: The thick appendages that extend from the shoulders on each side of the body are known as reach sticks. They are composed of two segments. The lower is know as the lifting pole due to the leverage it provides, and the upper is known as the gripping pole for its role in holding onto objects. The small device at the end of the gripping pole is sometimes colloquially referred to as a “gripsie.” Reach sticks tend to be more or less symmetrical, but some degree of variance in size or shape from one side to the other is not uncommon.
2. Taster: The thick, fleshy appendage that sits in your lower head hole and extends down to the surface of your swallowing system is know as the taster. The taster gets its name from the role it plays in human sensory experience. Taste is one of the three major senses and is highly important in our nutrition acquiring and poison avoiding processes. The taster ranges in color from off-white to deep red and in some cases reaches such an intense maroon that it is appears to be almost black.
3. Glasses Triangle: The system extending from each lateral head protrusion and converging at the anterior head protrusion is known as the glasses triangle. Its name derives from the purpose it serves in human vision. Although we take it for granted, a little known fact about the glasses triangle is that it is a relatively recent evolutionary quirk. Several millennia ago, one of our mischievous ancestors in the trees found that he could augment his simian vision by wearing the tool we have come to call “glasses.” Future generations began to select for head protrusions of greater size so as to better keep on these “glasses” and by the time early humans sprouted up the triangle was already ingrained in our DNA.
4. The Leg: Admittedly, I’m taking a chance here. While this term was formerly only spoken among professional anatomists, its frequent use in forensic crime novels of the better sort has caused it to enter the parlance of the more educated. Nevertheless, I’m going to assume ignorance on the part of the reader. The thick appendage extending downward from the human midsection is known as the leg. The leg is lined with the muscles that star in that mysterious process of human locomotion known as walking. Few scholars can agree on exactly how this process occurs but find common ground based on the idea that it is very complicated.
5. Flescia: Resting on the lower back, the flescia plays an important role in regulating mood levels and keeping the immune system functioning properly. This is due to the fact that all human blood tubes converge directly beneath it. As such, great care must be taken to protect the flescia from excessive impact. Doctors report that nine out of ten health complaints among professional athletes and those employed in other physically demanding fields stem from flescia damage.

Images were created by Adam Reed, ‘15 for partial fulfillment of his comps for the Studio Art department.