Anatomical Oddities

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Roberts’s legions of fans will find themselves delighted by a book that is both accessible and expert [and] wears deep learning lightly.”— Daily Telegraph Anatomical Oddities was a fascinating look at some of the history and names behind both obscure and well-known features found within the human body. The commentary and the art make for a unique tour through the anatomical landscape. As someone who taught Anatomy for over six years, the information was on point, and learning the meaning behind the words we use to describe the many features of our internal organs was one of the best aspects of this book.

Roberts is a prolific TV presenter, and Ancestors skillfully deploys the arts of screen storytelling: narrative pace, a sense of mysteries being unfolded. . . . [It] is above all a tribute to the archaeological profession.”— The TimesEvery part of the human body has a name - and story. But how familiar are you with your arachnoid mater or your Haversian canals? BuzzFeed Bring Me Obsessed with travel? Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me!

Another popular exhibit at the Mütter Museum is Grimm's Anatomy: Magic and Medicine, which delves into the more disturbing side of the iconic fairy tales. For example, the exhibit explores how German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's version of Cinderella draws visceral parallels to the tradition of Chinese foot-binding. Printed with light-fast pigment inks on Expressions natural textured 300gsm 100% cellulose museum grade digital fine art paper. This is a book everyone should read. Roberts is the new Da Vinci, able to shift between science and humanities, the objective and subjective, the global and the individual. There is such a scope of knowledge between the covers of this book that you feel like a better and more knowledgeable person having read it. A mind-altering, life-altering book.”— Dr. Janina Ramirez Over the course of his career, Thomas Mütter amassed a large collection of research materials along with medical oddities and anomalies that he used to teach his students as a professor. This wide array of specimens would be what first populated the museum when it opened in 1863, just four years after his death from gout and lung disease. Inside The Mütter Museum Roberts . . . finds that our uniqueness is often more complicated and surprising than we could have imagined.” — ForbesRoberts . . . finds that our uniqueness is often more complicated and surprising than we could have imagined.”—Forbes I enjoyed the use of unique artwork instead of generic anatomy diagrams to show the oddities themselves and where in the body they are located. Alice May Roberts is an English anatomist, osteoarchaeologist, physical anthropologist, palaeopathologist, television presenter and author. I have an impression of early anatomists, almost exclusively men, poring over the intricate structures of the human body and becoming quite excited when they found anything that reminded them of a bit of female anatomy. It’s extraordinary how many parts of the body, apart from the breasts themselves, are named after breasts and nipples.” This quote, which made me laugh out loud, was in reference to the mammillary bodies that are situated in the brain—far away from what we think of as female accoutrements.

Did you know you have cobwebs in your head, hair in your lungs, and snails in your ears? In the world of anatomy, every name paints a picture: from the arachnoid mater, a brain membrane resembling a spider’s web, to the ciliated epitheliumof the respiratory tract (from the Latin for “eyelash”) and the curlicue cochleas(from the Greek for “snail”) that power our hearing.

A masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are. . . . Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory.”— Observer About the Author: Professor Alice Roberts is an academic, author and broadcaster, specialising in human anatomy, physiology, evolution, archaeology and history. In 2001, Alice made her television debut on Channel 4's Time Team, and went on to write and present The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us and Ice Age Giants on BBC2. She is also the presenter of the popular TV series Digging for Britain. Alice has been a Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012. At this point in history, we need to exploit our expanding knowledge of evolution to enhance the quality of our lives as we grow older because the single-minded pursuit of life extension without considering health extension could be disastrous. O! How an art-full, word-mad book about the body can exercise the mind.” —from the foreword by Holly Dunsworth

Public Domain The entrance to the Mütter Museum on 22nd Street in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia. I find the origins of words (especially medical terminology) super interesting so to read how certain words were devised and what they were derived from really added to the depth of the information. Not only is there a wide range of anatomical terms, body parts and info included but some great facts and intriguing science. Even the term “flaw” requires clarification. Living things, and everything they make, eventually fail. The cause of failure is a flaw only when the failure is premature. A race car that fails beyond the end of the race has no engineering flaws. In the same way, bodies that fail in the postreproductive span of life may contain numerous design oddities, but they have no design flaws as far as evolution goes. Roberts’s legions of fans will find themselves delighted by a book that is both accessible and expert [and] wears deep learning lightly.”—Daily Telegraph Though cobbled together by the blind eye of evolution, humans have proved to be a remarkably successful species. We have outcompeted almost every organism that we have encountered, with the notable exception of microbes. We have blanketed the earth and even walked on the moon. We have even figured out how to escape premature death and survive to old age.

Roberts studied medicine and anatomy at Cardiff University, qualifying in 1997 as a physician with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BCh) degree, having gained an intercalated Bachelor of Science degree in anatomy. She earned a PhD in paleopathology in 2008 from the University of Bristol. Buried is a tender, fascinating act of listening—of listening to the tales the dead have to tell us about the landscapes we share with them, the histories we have constructed around them, and the futures we imagine for ourselves. Lucid and illuminating.”—Robert Macfarlane The process of human evolution has resulted in bodies that are optimized for successful reproduction and child-rearing but are not necessarily designed for healthy, long lives. Anatomical Oddities explores the less-familiar realms of the body, unveiling the mysteries etched into the most outlandish landscapes hidden inside all of our crypts and caverns, gorges, islets, and mountains. Along the way, it dips into the history of our relationship with our physical form and the discoveries that paved the way for modern anatomy and medicine. Keep collections to yourself or inspire other shoppers! Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections - they may also appear in recommendations and other places.