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Lunate Sulcus
In brain anatomy, the lunate sulcus or simian sulcus, also known as the sulcus lunatus, is a Sulcus (neuroanatomy), fissure in the occipital lobe variably found in humans and more often larger when present in apes and monkeys. The lunate sulcus marks the transition between Visual cortex#V1, V1 and Visual cortex#V2, V2, the primary and secondary Visual cortex, visual cortices. The lunate sulcus lies further back in the human brain than in the chimpanzee's. The evolutionary expansion in humans of the areas in front of the lunate sulcus would have caused a shift in the location of the fissure. Evolutionary pressures may have resulted in the human brain undergoing internal reorganization to develop the capability of language. It has been speculated that this reorganization is implemented during early maturity and is responsible for Eidetic memory, eidetic imagery in some adolescents. During early development, the neural connections in the prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal lobe r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homology (biology)
In biology, homology is similarity in anatomical structures or genes between organisms of different taxa due to shared ancestry, ''regardless'' of current functional differences. Evolutionary biology explains homologous structures as retained heredity from a common descent, common ancestor after having been subjected to adaptation (biology), adaptive modifications for different purposes as the result of natural selection. The term was first applied to biology in a non-evolutionary context by the anatomist Richard Owen in 1843. Homology was later explained by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in 1859, but had been observed before this from Aristotle's biology onwards, and it was explicitly analysed by Pierre Belon in 1555. A common example of homologous structures is the forelimbs of vertebrates, where the bat wing development, wings of bats and origin of avian flight, birds, the arms of primates, the front flipper (anatomy), flippers of whales, and the forelegs of quadrupedalis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allometry
Allometry (Ancient Greek "other", "measurement") is the study of the relationship of body size to shape, anatomy, physiology and behaviour, first outlined by Otto Snell in 1892, by D'Arcy Thompson in 1917 in ''On Growth and Form'' and by Julian Huxley in 1932. Overview Allometry is a well-known study, particularly in statistical shape analysis for its theoretical developments, as well as in biology for practical applications to the differential growth rates of the parts of a living organism's body. One application is in the study of various insect species (e.g., Hercules beetles), where a small change in overall body size can lead to an enormous and disproportionate increase in the dimensions of appendages such as legs, antennae, or horns. The relationship between the two measured quantities is often expressed as a power law equation (allometric equation) which expresses a remarkable scale symmetry: : y = k x^a, or in a logarithmic form, : \log y = a \log x + \log k, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hominoids
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans are found globally). Apes are more closely related to Old World monkeys (family Cercopithecidae) than to the New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) with both Old World monkeys and apes placed in the clade Catarrhini. Apes do not have tails due to a mutation of the TBXT gene. In traditional and non-scientific use, the term ''ape'' can include tailless primates taxonomically considered Cercopithecidae (such as the Barbary ape and black ape), and is thus not equivalent to the scientific taxon Hominoidea. There are two extant branches of the superfamily Hominoidea: the gibbons, or lesser apes; and the hominids, or great apes. * The family Hylobatidae, the lesser apes, include four genera and a total of 20 species of gibbon, including the lar gibbon and the siamang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cytoarchitecture
Cytoarchitecture (from Greek κύτος 'cell' and ἀρχιτεκτονική 'architecture'), also known as cytoarchitectonics, is the study of the cellular composition of the central nervous system's tissues under the microscope. Cytoarchitectonics is one of the ways to parse the brain, by obtaining sections of the brain using a microtome and staining them with chemical agents which reveal where different neurons are located. The study of the parcellation of ''nerve fibers'' (primarily axons) into layers forms the subject of myeloarchitectonics (from Greek μυελός 'marrow' and ἀρχιτεκτονική 'architecture'), an approach complementary to cytoarchitectonics. History of the cerebral cytoarchitecture Defining cerebral cytoarchitecture began with the advent of histology—the science of slicing and staining brain slices for examination. It is credited to the Viennese psychiatrist Theodor Meynert (1833–1892), who in 1867 noticed regional variations in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hominini
The Hominini (hominins) form a Tribe (biology), taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae (hominines). They comprise two extant genera: ''Homo'' (humans) and ''Pan (genus), Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos), and in standard usage exclude the genus ''Gorilla (genus), Gorilla'' (gorillas), which is grouped separately within the subfamily Homininae. The term Hominini was originally introduced by Camille Arambourg (1948), who combined the categories of ''Hominina'' and ''Simiina'' pursuant to John Edward Gray, Gray's classifications (1825). Traditionally, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans were grouped together, excluding humans, as pongidae, pongids. Since Gray's classifications, evidence accumulating from genetic phylogeny confirmed that humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas are more closely related to each other than to the orangutan. The orangutans were reassigned to the family Hominidae (great apes), which already included humans; and the gorillas were grouped as a separate tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatomical Landmarks
Surface anatomy (also called superficial anatomy and visual anatomy) is the study of the external features of the body of an animal.Seeley (2003) chap.1 p.2 In birds, this is termed ''topography''. Surface anatomy deals with anatomical features that can be studied by sight, without dissection. As such, it is a branch of gross anatomy, along with endoscopic and radiological anatomy.Standring (2008) ''Introduction'', ''Anatomical nomenclature'', p.2 Surface anatomy is a descriptive science. In particular, in the case of human surface anatomy, these are the form and proportions of the human body and the surface landmarks which correspond to deeper structures hidden from view, both in static pose and in motion. In addition, the science of surface anatomy includes the theories and systems of body proportions and related artistic canons. The study of surface anatomy is the basis for depicting the human body in classical art. Some pseudo-sciences such as physiognomy, phrenology and palm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homo Sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing#Evolution of hairlessness, hairlessness, bipedality, bipedalism, and high Human intelligence, intelligence. Humans have large Human brain, brains, enabling more advanced cognitive skills that facilitate successful adaptation to varied environments, development of sophisticated tools, and formation of complex social structures and civilizations. Humans are Sociality, highly social, with individual humans tending to belong to a Level of analysis, multi-layered network of distinct social groups — from families and peer groups to corporations and State (polity), political states. As such, social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of Value theory, values, norm (sociology), social norms, languages, and traditions (co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatomical Terms Of Location
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provides a definition of what is at the front ("anterior"), behind ("posterior") and so on. As part of defining and describing terms, the body is described through the use of anatomical planes and axes. The meaning of terms that are used can change depending on whether a vertebrate is a biped or a quadruped, due to the difference in the neuraxis, or if an invertebrate is a non-bilaterian. A non-bilaterian has no anterior or posterior surface for example but can still have a descriptor used such as proximal or distal in relation to a body part that is nearest to, or furthest from its middle. International organisations have determined vocabularies that are often used as standards for subdisciplines of anatomy. For example, '' Termi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolution Of The Human Brain
Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. The process of evolution has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation. The scientific theory of evolution by natural selection was conceived independently by two British naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, in the mid-19th century as an explanation for why organisms are adapted to their physical and biological environments. The theory was first set out in detail in Darwin's book '' On the Origin of Species''. Evolution by natural selection is established by observable facts about living organisms: (1) more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive; (2) traits vary among individuals w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endocast
An endocast is the internal cast of a hollow object, often referring to the cranial vault in the study of brain development in humans and other organisms. Endocasts can be artificially made for examining the properties of a hollow, inaccessible space, or they may occur naturally through fossilization. Cranial endocasts Artificial casts Endocasts of the inside of the neurocranium (braincase) are often made in paleoanthropology to study brain structures and hemispheric specialization in extinct human ancestors. While an endocast can not directly reveal brain structure, it can allow scientists to gauge the size of areas of the brain situated close to the surface, notably Wernicke's and Broca's areas, responsible for interpreting and producing speech. Traditionally, the casting material is some form of rubber or rubber-like material. The openings to the brain cavity, except for the ''foramen magnum'', are closed, and the liquid rubber is slushed around in the empty cranial vaul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grafton Elliot Smith
Sir Grafton Elliot Smith (15 August 1871 – 1 January 1937) was an Australian-British anatomist, Egyptologist and a proponent of the hyperdiffusionist view of prehistory. He believed in the idea that cultural innovations occur only once and that they spread geographically. Based on this, he traced the origins of many cultural and traditional practices across the world, including the New World, to ideas that he believed came from Egypt and in some instances from Asia. An expert on brain anatomy, he was one of the first to study Egyptian mummies using radiological techniques. He took an interest in extinct humanoids and was embroiled in controversy over the authenticity of the Piltdown Man. Professional career Smith was born in Grafton, New South Wales to Stephen Sheldrick Smith who had moved to Australia from London in 1860 and Mary Jane, née Evans. He received his early education from Grafton Public School where his father was headmaster. When the family moved to Sydney i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
