Your body is stunning. No, really! Human bodies are a complicated body with interconnected systems and vital organs which work all day long to carry out the tasks required for daily living. For example, to take food, your mouth stomach, esophagus, liver the pancreas and intestines have to cooperate to digest and break down the food you consume while obtaining the essential nutrients for your overall health.
While we all know the fundamental body processes that keep us alive however, you may perhaps not know of the more amazing tasks that your body is able to perform. We’ve collected seven facts about our body, and some of its most bizarre functions that will shock you.
Facts About Human Body
Fact No. 1: Your stomach is the one organ to have its own nervous system that is independent.
The digestive system (commonly called the gut) comprises by your pancreas, stomach, gallbladder, liver, small intestinal tract, colon and rectum and is commonly called”the “second brain.” It is the only organ that has its own, independent nervous system that consists of 100 million neurons encased in the wall of your gut. Consider neurons as nerve cells that communicate with the nervous system. They send information to muscles, nerve cells and gland cells throughout the body.
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The “second brain” is so robust that it will continue to function even if the main neurological connection of your digestive system and your cerebral cortex (called vagus nerve) is cut. This means that, even the brain would not be in a position to communicate to your stomach, the neurons within your gut wall would remain able to relay the necessary information needed to allow the digestive system to work properly on its own.
Fact There is no fact. 2. Your veins, capillaries, and arteries could extend over 60,000 miles if laid on a flat surface.
As your heart beats it pump fluid through the circulatory system which is made consisting of blood vessels referred to as capillaries, veins, and arteries. These blood vessels transport blood to all parts of your body. Arteries transport an oxygenated stream of blood from your heart veins transport oxygenated blood to your heart, and capillaries link them.
If you laid out the massive blood vessels stretching that a typical child would have from all the way to its end they’d extend over sixty thousand miles! If you were to lay them out for an adult, they’d be stretched for more than 100,000 miles! Your capillaries, the tiniest blood vessels (measuring 5 micrometers in size) are responsible for about 80 percent of that length.
For comparison, the Earth’s circumference is around 250,000 miles. This means that blood vessels that are a part of one person could wrap around the Earth numerous times!
Fact No. 3. You shed hundreds of millions of skin cells per hour. These dead skin cells could actually reduce the pollution of the air.
Your skin grows fast. It grows really fast. In a 24-hour time frame it is possible to shed up to 5 billion of skin cells (that’s the equivalent of nine zeros!) around 200 million per hour. The epidermis (the upper layer of your skin) is always trying to replace the lost skin cells with fresh ones. In reality 95 percent of the cells of your epidermis function to produce the newly formed skin cells. The remaining 5 percent make melanin, which gives your skin its colour.
Based on the American Chemical Society, these dead skin cells are an important cause of dust in your home and may be beneficial. When your dead skin cells die and accumulate in your office and home They’re also bringing with them skin oils , such that cholesterol as well as squalene.
Studies have proven that squalene may lower levels of ozone, an irritant which can cause irritation to your nose, eyes and throat and cause worsening of asthma symptoms. Squalene in dust particles can help reduce the amount of ozone that is present in indoor areas which can reduce the amount of indoor pollution by as much as 15 percent.
Bonus point Have you ever thought about how we lose hundreds of skin cells every day, without breaking in the skin’s barrier? It’s not a mystery! An investigation conducted by Imperial College London in 2016 Imperial College London in 2016 found that skin cells keep a barrier of protection to their distinctive tetrakaidecahedron shape.
It is an elongated, 14-sided shape comprised of six rectangular as well as eight sides that are hexagonal. The shape of the skin cells allows them to form a tight connection with the skin cells surrounding them. It was also found epidermal cells make proteins that act as temporary glue, binds cells in what’s known as “tight junctions.” The distinctive shape of the cell and the “glue” allow your skin to maintain its integrity even though it is thin.
Fact No. 4 Your cornea is distinctive in the sense that it does not have blood vessels.
The cornea is the clear part of the eye which covers your pupil (the opening in the middle the eye) and the eye’s iris (the colored portion that is visible to the naked eye) as well as your anterior chamber (the liquid-filled inner chamber of your eye). The cornea’s transparent structure lets light pass through the retina, and then on to the brain for processing the information you’re seeing. The interesting thing is that the reason that the cornea appears transparent is the fact that it’s one of only two tissues within your body , the second being cartilage that is without blood vessels!
Scientists have long known cornea that is translucent and clear of blood vessels. However, they were unable to explain the reason until the year 2006. Researchers from Harvard’s Department of Ophthalmology’s Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary discovered that the specific condition that makes the cornea free of blood vessels . It is dependent on the presence of large quantities of a protein known as VEGFR-3.
This protein is able to stop angiogenesis, which is the process of growing of blood vessels. Without the large quantities of VEGFR-3 in our system, our vision will be seriously affected. In the event that the cornea gets clouded by injuries, infections or abnormal growth of blood vessels vision may be seriously affected, and blindness could result. This is a promising discovery for those who are trying to stop and treat the eye disease that causes blindness and other diseases, like cancer, as the introduction of this protein may be therapeutically used in various other tissues.
Fact No. 5: Bacteria that are in your gut can impact your mood.
It’s been mentioned that your gut can perform some pretty incredible things But did you know that it can affect your mental health as well? There is a huge amount of bacteria living in your gut that collectively are referred to by the term microbiome. The microbiome can influence brain development, neural chemical processes, emotional behavior as well as pain perception and stress.
Your gut is sterile after you are born. In time it is likely that your GI tract will grow into an array of bacterial species. These may be influenced by your genetics as well as the bacteria that live in the space that you reside in. Your microbiome is a source of neurochemicals your brain utilizes to regulate memory, learning as well as your mood!
Your microbiome is responsible for about 95 percent of the body’s serotonin hormone, the hormone that regulates your mood, emotions of happiness and well-being. Serotonin can also help reduce depression, manage anxiety keep bones healthy and aid in processes like sleeping eating, sleeping and digestion. It’s all possible because of your digestive system!
Fact There is no. 6 Your breathing and heart rate can match up with the music you’re enjoying.
That’s right! Music you listen to can trigger physiological changes to the blood pressure of your heart rate , and respiration. Researchers have discovered that the changes in your respiratory and cardiovascular systems that occur while listening to music are directly mirrored by the speed and intensity of the music that you’re enjoying.
For example, music that has high-pitched crescendos (increases of volume or intensity) can cause rises in blood pressure and heart rate, as well as breathing. Conversely, decrescendos or periods of silence cause reductions in these vital signs. Researchers have also observed that repetitive beats of music can cause your heart to sync to the beat. This could result in new treatments for strokes and other ailments.
They’re not the only effects music has on your cardiovascular system as well. The act of listening to music, playing instruments or singing has been proven to help people exercise longer, aid in helping blood pressure and heart rate levels return to normal faster after exertion, boost blood vessel function through relaxing the arteries, reduce anxiety for heart attack victims and aid those who have had surgery to repair their heart experience less anxious and in pain. These benefits are amplified when you are already familiar with music that you’re listening and not listening to songs that you aren’t familiar with.
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Fact No. 7: Your brain shrinks during pregnancy.
This is a totally new meaning to the phrase “pregnancy brain.” A study from 2017 that was published in Nature Neuroscience revealed pregnant women are affected by a reduction in cortical thickness and area of surface in the sections of the brain that are known as grey matter.
The loss of grey matter is seen within the brain’s cerebral cortex and specifically in areas that affect social cognition. These are the areas where we interpret people’s emotions or non-verbal communication. While it is not a detrimental result, the loss of volume increases our brain’s capability to handle social interactions more effectively and more accurately, particularly when it comes to understanding the needs of babies and their emotions.
The study showed that the brain undergoes these changes, believed to be evolutionary in the course of pregnancy to boost emotional expression and facial recognition. enhance mother-infant bonding, and increase the mother’s ability to identify the needs of her child , and better process social signals which could pose a risk for her baby.
The reductions in grey matter were found to persist up to two years following the birth and provide the first evidence that pregnancy causes permanent changes in women’s brain.
