European Diet and Aboriginal Health

European diet and aboriginal health are intimately related. The impact of the inordinate amount of carbohydrates and alcohol brought to Australia by English companies took a heavy toll on the health of the Australian aborigines. Therefore, the change of diet was extremely harmful, not beneficial, having a lasting deleterious effect on the local population, who were considered savages by the British explorers and colonists.

The newcomers brought to Australia the Western civilization diet and customs, which were imposed on the them. This foreign diet contained two injurious elements; carbohydrates and alcohol, which would alter the aborigines' metabolism as they are the main causes of today's well-known metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. The British took also their cultural prejudices to the new continent, regarding the local population as pagans and barbarians.

When James Cook explored the coasts of Eastern Australia in 1770, the aborigines had been living there for thousands of years. With their main source of calories being animal fat and meat, they were in a permanent state of ketosis (burning fat as fuel instead of glucose). Like the Inuits of Northern Canada and all the tribes of Siberia and Mongolia, their diet was based almost entirely on animal products, for they were highly specialized hunters. Using spears and boomerangs as their main utensils of survival, they hunted kangaroos, emus, and bats as they ate their meat, fat and entrails (liver and heart), and drank their blood in special ceremonies. Since they had not developed agriculture, they did not drink any alcoholic beverages of any kind.

Just like what William Stefansson noticed studying the Inuits' customs and diet, the British doctors would later observe that the aborigines' children did not suffer from neurological conditions such as epilepsy and metal retardation. Heart conditions also seemed to be absent among the indigenous population of Australia. To be a primitive hunter, you had to be completely fit and intelligent.

Below, an old photograph of an Australian hunter, taken in the 1920s, before they switched to the carbs-based European diet. You can see how physically fit they were: extremely thin but wiry. 90% of their diet consisted of meat and 10% plant fibers. Unfortunately, their physique would change over the years, acquiring metabolic medical conditions, such as diabetes.

Ketosis Health Benefits

Ketosis health benefits are numerous, affecting several tissues of the body for the better. But before going any further, I will explain to you what is ketosis. Well, it is a metabolic state in which most of your body cells mitochondria burn ketone bodies as fuel instead of sugar to produce ATP, which is the cell energy unit. Ketone bodies are the metabolic byproducts of the fat you eat and digest, when you are on a ketogenic diet, or the fat you have as fuel store around your waist.

In other words, either the fat you eat, when you are on a ketogenic diet, or the fat you have around your waist as adipose tissue, when you are fasting, is broken down by an enzyme called lipase into one molecule of glycerol and two fatty acids, which in turn are further refined and metabolized into three types of ketone bodies; ß-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and acetone. Thus, when your neurons and muscle cells run out of glucose, their mitochondria (cell organelles) start burning ß-hydroxybutyrate as fuel to produce ATP. When this happens, then you are in the state of ketosis.
 

Metabolic Health Benefits of Ketosis

The main health benefit of burning ketone bodies, which derive from fat digestion and its metabolic pathway in the liver, is that it promotes what is called the bioneogenesis of the mitochondrion, which means the production of new mitochondria through the division of this organelle into two. So, the more mitochondria in your cell cytosol, the more ATP per second is going to be generated. The multiplication of mitochondria and ATP induces in turn the neuroneogenesis of the nerve cells, which means their replication into more neurons, which is going to help develop fully your brain fasciculi (your brain wiring). And when your myelinated brain bundles develop, your mental clarity, memory, and the fine motor movement of your hands are going to improve sharply. Another health benefit is the fact that you lose weight, because you burn fat when you are in ketosis.

This metabolic and neurological advantages you get when you are in the state of ketosis, make the ketogenic diet the ideal diet, which can be used to treat patients affected by chronic diseases, such as type II diabetes, Alzheimer, epilepsy seizures, and even cancer.

By Carlos B. Camacho (biological anthropologist)

Ketone Bodies

Ketone bodies are organic molecules which contain the carbonyl group, C=O. In the human beings and the rest of mammals, they are the metabolic products of lipolysis and ketogenesis. The former pathway is the breaking down of fat or triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol, while the latter one is the metabolic conversion of fatty acid by the liver cell mitochondria into ketone bodies: β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and acetone.

Except for acetone, they are used as fuel by most of the body cell mitochondria for the production of ATP in the Kreb's cycle and in the electron transport chain of mitochondria. Ketone bodies production takes place in the absence of carbohydrates as when we are on a ketogenic diet, also during fasting and/or when we have worked out hard for more than 30 minutes and we are burning fat.

To summarize, the fat contained in the food we eat, or the fat in the form of triglycerides in our adipose cells, is metabolized (burned) into β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and acetona, with the first two ones being used as fuel. This metabolic state is called ketosis. We must not confused it with ketoacidosis, which takes place only in diabetic people.

Ketone bodies are so small that they can cross the blood-brain barrier as they are employed by either pyramidal neurons or oligodendrocytes. Red and white blood cells, however, can not use ketone bodies as fuel because they lack mitochondria; they only consume glucose.

ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is a diet based mostly on fat, and animal protein. Its food pyramid consists of 65% fat (either saturated or non-saturated), 20% meat (beef, pork, chicken, fish), and 0 (zero) carbs. Many people don't want to be on this diet because of the unreasonable, cultural prejudices against fat. They are afraid that saturated fat will occlude their arteries, without realizing that the fat and cholesterol we eat don't go straight as such into our blood vessels; the only way for them to go straight into our arteries would be by injecting them with a syringe into our bloodstream, and this is the only way saturated fat would then clog up our arteries.

People never stop to think that the saturated fat we eat must go first through our body refinery, which is the liver, to be refined into much smaller molecules called ketone bodies, which then go into our arteries, in the same way petroleum must go first through an industrial refinery to be converted into gasoline to be able to be used in our car engine. If we put petroleum straight into our car tank, it will quite sure occlude the small conduit that leads up to the car engine. Ketone bodies are so small that they are able to pass the blood-brain barrier, and if they are able to go through into our brain, then there is no way they can block our blood vessels. When our cells start using ketone bodies as fuel, then we are in a metabolic state called ketosis (don't confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis, which only occurs in type I diabetes).

Ketone bodies are the super refined high-octane fuel used by our neuron and muscle cell mitochondria to produce ATP. The advantage of ketone bodies over glucose is that these small molecules, which are the byproducts of saturated fat digestion, don't leave free radicals in the cell cytoplasm as glucose does. Thus, mitochondria runs much more efficiently on ketone bodies than when it uses glucose. High levels of sugar in our bloodstream is inflammatory and harmful for our body tissues, while ketone bodies are the other way around; anti-inflammatory.

The ketogenic diet is good for you, because it is the natural diet of mankind. It is the diet on which the human brain evolved to such size, with its thick cortex and fully developed fasciculi (the brain wiring). This diet will improve your memory, your mental clarity, and enhance your personality and physical fitness. Don't be afraid to embark on a ketogenic diet, for it will change your life for the better, as you will end up in the safe haven of good health, far away from the nightmare of metabolic diseases.

Ketosis

Ketosis is a metabolic state in which most body cells utilize ketone bodies and molecules of fatty acid instead of glucose to produce ATP instead. Human beings, and mammals, are in this metabolic state when they are fasting, or when they eat exclusively fat and meat instead of carbohydrates-rich food. During dietary ketosis, the amount of ketone bodies in the bloodstream ranges from 1 to 4 millimolars per liter. During starvation, however, it ranges between 4 to 8 millimolars. More than that, it is called ketoacidosis, which happens in type I diabetic patients.

Although ketoacidosis is dangerous, ketosis is good for your health, because it promotes mitochondrial neogenesis, which is the production of more mitonchondria per cell through division. The more mitochondria per cell, the faster the ATP generation per second will be. The reason for the production of more mitochondria within the cells is the fact that ketone bodies does not leave free radicals, such as hydroxyl, as glucose does during glycolysis. Free radicals damage either the nuclear or the mitochondria's membrane.

Ketone bodies are produced through two metabolic processes, one called lipolysis, and the other ketogenesis. The first one is the breaking down of triglyceride (body fat) and dietary fat into one glycerol and three fatty acids through the intervention of the glucagon (pancreatic hormone). Ketogenesis is the synthesis of ketone bodies from fatty acid by the liver cell mitochondria (beta-oxidation); there are three ones: beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and acetone. Once synthesized, they are carried in the arterial bloodstream to every tissue, where they are converted into acetyl-CoA in the cell cytoplams before entering the citric acid cycle.

Number of Bones in Human Body

There is a large number of bones in human body. There are approximately 214 bones in an adult human skeleton. However, the skeleton of an infant is made up of 350 bones, which fuse together as they grow, especially those in the skull. The longest and heaviest bone in the body is the femur (thigh bone), and the smallest one is the stapes, which is a tiny piece located in the middle ear, transmitting acoustic vibrations into the inner year.

We say "approximately" 214, because their number in an adult skeleton can vary slightly from individual to individual. Anatomical variation may result in extra bones, which are most commonly noticed in the skull (satural bones), ribs (cervical and lumbar ribs), the vertebrae (extra lumbar vertebra), and sesamoid bones.

The vertebral column, which holds the spinal cord, consists of 26 bones called vertebrae. 24 of these vertebrae are movable and two are rigid. From top to bottom, there are 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, and 5 lumbar vertebrae + the sacrum and the coccyx. During early infancy, the sacrum is made up of 5 separate pieces which get fused together into one bone as the infant grows. The coccyx is composed of three bones, which also become one.

Lipolysis Pathway

Lipolysis pathway is the chemical degradation of fat, either the fat which is contained in our adipose cells in the form of triglycerides or the saturated fat contained in the food we eat. In the first case, it takes place when we burn fat, and we burn fat when we are fasting or when we work out hard or run for more than half and hour; in the second case, it begins in the duodenum, which is the first portion of the small intestine, when we digest the fat-containing food. In both cases, this chemical breakdown of fat put us in the metabolic state called ketosis, as long as we are not consuming carbohydrates, through ketogenesis, which is the synthesis of ketone bodies.

Lipolysis Pathway (Summary)

Lipase, which is an enzyme, is the initiator of decomposition of fat. When the glycogen store in our body has been depleted during fasting or work out, the pancreas α-cells secretes glucagon. Then this hormone travels in the bloodstream and induces the adipose cells to release the triglyceride molecules contained in their cytoplasm. As soon as they are released, lipase breaks down the triglyceride into one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of fatty acids, which are carried in the bloodstream to the liver.

Fatty acid makes their way into the liver hepatocyte cytoplasm, where it is further broken down into acyl CoA. In the mitochondria liver cells, acyl CoA is further converted into acetyl CoA through β-oxidation. Then Acetyl CoA gets into the Krebs cycle (cytric acid cycle) which takes place in the mitochondrion matrix. With the intervention of the enzyme hydroxy-metyl-glutaryl-CoA synthase, acetyl CoA is metabolically transformed into β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, and acetona, which are ketone bodies. In fasting or when we are on a fat-based diet, ketone bodies are used as fuel by most of our body cells as the levels of glucose in our bloodstream drop.

In fasting, the lower level of glucose is maintained through a process called gluconeogenesis, which is the production of glucose from glycerol and amino acids (proteins). In this case, we do not have glucose spikes, as when we eat carbohydrates, because this metabolic process is very slow.

Glycolysis Pathway

Glycolysis pathway is the metabolic process, by which glucose (C6 H12 O6) is broken down into two molecules of pyruvate (CH3 CO CO OH), which then enters the Krebs Cycle as Acetyl CoA. It is a sequence of ten chemical reactions in two phases. It envolves enzymes that act as catalists, which make possible the conversion, or degradation, of one molecule into another. We can also say that glycolysis is the anaerobic catabolism of glucose, occurring virtually in all cells cytosol. The free energy, which is stored in 2 molecules of pyruvic acid (pyruvate), is somewhat less than that in the original glucose molecule. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high energy compounds, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and NADH (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide).

Phases of glycolysis

First phase- Once glucose has gotten into the cell cytosol, it is degraded into glucose-6-phosphate by the enzyme hexokinase through phosphorylation reactions. Next, Glucose-6-phosphate is converted into fructose-6-phosphate by the enzyme isomerase. Fructose-6-phosphate is catalized into fructose-1,6-bisphophate by the enzyme phospho-fructo-kinase using ATP as energy. Then, fructose-1,6-bisphophate is broken down by the enzyme aldolase into two molecules: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate.

Second phase- Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate is transformed into 1-3bisphospho-glycerate by the enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, with the coenzyme NAD, which is reduced to NADH. Next, the 1-3bisphophoglycerate is catabolized into 3-phosphoglycerate by the enzyme phosphoglycerate-kinase, with one molecule of ATP being released in the process. The molecule 3-phosphoglycerate is in turn converted into 2-phosphoglycerate by the enzyme phosphoglycerate mutase. Then 2-phosphoglycerate is catalized into phosphoenol pyruvate by the enzyme enolase/MG2. Finally, phosphoenol pyruvate is broken down into pyruvate by the enzyme pyruvate kinase, producing another molecule of ATP in the process.

To enter the Krebs cycle, the pyruvate must be catalized into acetyl CoA by the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase.

Below, a glycolysis pathway diagram, which shows the metabolic conversion of glucose into pyruvate.
 

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are organic compounds produced by plants through photosynthesis. Having different molecular structures, they are the energy stock which the different types of plants employ for either their growth and reproduction. The only kind of carbs produced by animals is lactose, which is one of the essential parts of milk as it is secreted by the female glands of mammals; and, before the development of agriculture, it had been one of the three sources of calories the primitive hunters consumed as infant, the others being saturated fat and meat proteins. The name of these forms of organic energy, 'carbohydrate', derives from the fact that they are a complex combination of atoms of carbon and hydrogen arranged in long chains.

Plants do not make carbs for us; they are just forms of energy which they stack up to be used by them. Using sunshine, oxygen, water, and minerals, most of them make starch, which could be used for growing, or reproduction. When the plant grows up, as it becomes taller and thicker, it converts the starch in its stem and branches into cellulose (wood pulp), which is a very complex form of carbohydrates. Cellulose gives plant, especially a tree, its hardness and compactness. But a plant can also use either starch or sucrose as energy for the development of the flower, the fruit, and the seeds. And the seeds also contain starch for its development into a new plant after it has landed on the earth. Corn, wheat, and rice are cereal seeds that contain high amounts of starch.

Types of Carbohydrates

According to their molecular structures, there are three kinds of carbs: 1) monosaccharides, which are the simplest form of carbs; 2) disaccharides; and 3) polysaccharides, which are the most complex form.

1) Monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, galactose, and dextrose. They are the simplest forms of carbs because they cannot further be broken down into simpler molecules by hydrolysis. Glucose is found in some fruit, honey, and in our body; the glucose in our bloodstream is obtained when a molecule of starch or sucrose is broken down by the enzymes amylase and sucrase respectively. This simple form of sugar is used by our cells as fuel to produce ATP. Too much sugar in our blood is toxic for our tissues, as it has to be lowered through insulin, if not, we have diabetes. This does not happen when we eat fat (butter/tallow), which was the main source of energy of our ancestors (hunters) long before the development of agriculture.

2) The most common molecules of disaccharides are sucrose (table sugar) and lactose, which is present in milk. The mill industry obtains table sugar (C12 H22 O12) from either sugar cane or beetroot, both of which contain high amount of sucrose in their juice. When we eat a cake, we eat sugar, which is broken down into glucose by the enzyme called sucrase.

3) Starch and cellulose are polysaccharides, which are long-chained carbs. However the latter is even more complex than the former. This is the main reason why we can only digest starches as we do not have any enzyme to digest cellulose, which is the wood of trees and the pulp of plants.

Brachioradialis

The brachioradialis is a spindle-shaped muscle, which lies on the antero-lateral portion of forearm. It arises from the lateral border of humerus, slightly above the lateral epicondyle and from the lateral intermuscular septum of arm. Then it runs superficially downwards along the radius/thumb side of forearm. When it has reached the middle of forearm, it becomes a long strong tendon, which is inserted into the lateral surface of radius, proximal to the radial styloid process.

Action

The function of the brachioradialis muscle is to flex the forearm at the elbow-joint, working in unison with the biceps brachii and the brachialis. It also assists the pronator teres and supinator muscle to pronate and supinate the radius.

Innervation

This long muscle is innervated by the radial nerve (C5-C6-C7), which is a branch of the brachial plexus.

Blood Supply

It gets oxygenated blood from the anterior descending of the deep brachial artery (arteria profunda brachii).

Below, the superficial muscles of the right forearm, showing the brachioradialis muscle.

 

Mitochondria

Mitochondria is the plural of mitochondrion. The mitochondrion is a cell organelle whose main function is to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from pyruvate, ketone bodies, and fatty acid. ATP is necessary for protein synthesis, muscle contraction, and ciliary beating. The body cells may contain few or many mitochondria. Liver cells usually have between 500 and 1000 of them. Nerve cells even more. Having the characteristics of an autonomous organism, they move within the cell as they undergo changes in shape.

Just as a power plant generates AC electricity from different fuels, such as gas or coal, this cell organelle produces the chemical energy in the form of ATP. The different types of fuels it utilizes to produce it are pyruvate (end product from the degradation of glucose), ketone bodies, and fatty acids.

Structure

The mitochondria are about the size of a small bacterium, measuring between 0.5 to 1 micron in width, and 2 to 4 microns in length. They consist of two membranes, with one surrounding the other. Inside them, there is an amorphous matrix, which contains enzymes. The outer membrane is the outer boundary of the mitochondrion,while the inner membrane has a series of folds which are called cristae. These folds stick out into the internal compartment of this organelle. Both the outer and the inner membrane are composed of a phospholipid protein bilayer.

In order to be able to produce ATP, the mitochondrion needs chemical catalysts. These are enzymes, such as pyruvate dehydrogenase, citrate synthetase, and NADH-cytochrome C oxidoreductase. The mitochondria are often found in cells which requires substantial amount of ATP. In striated muscle tissue, mitochondria are located between myofribils and they supply ATP necessary for muscle contraction. They are also found near the endoplasmatic reticulum as they supply ATP for protein synthesis. The mitochondrion contains its own DNA, which is different from the cell nucleus DNA.

Below, electromicrograph of mitochondria contained in a cell. OM=outer membrane, and IM=inner membrane.

 

Is Coffee Good for Health?

The answer to the question: "is coffee good for health?" is yes, it is, but as long as you don't drink in excess. Regular consumption of coffee is associated to a 20% decrease in the risk of acquiring cardiovascular conditions and stroke, according to the ABC of Health Magazine of Germany. This is due to the fact it contributes in keeping the elasticity of the artery walls as it might be a natural renin blocker. Let us remember that renin is an enzyme secreted by the kidney and triggers the production of angiotensin I and II, which harden the walls of your arteries.

Because caffeine is a very bitter alkaloid, coffee is also good for your liver and its consumption is linked to a significant drop in the risk of getting liver cancer and cirrhosis. It also decreases the chances of acquiring gallbladder stones. Aside from being protective agent of your liver, coffee is a good anti-inflammatory for your prostate gland as it helps a senior man to urinate more fluidly and easily. It is also rich in antioxidants, such as polyphenols, caffeoylquinic, and hydrocinnamic acid, which neutralize free radicals.

Due to its caffeine content, it stimulates mental focus and concentration when you are reading or writing, or doing other intellectual activities. However, if you drink more than four cups of coffee a day, then it will overstimulate your central nervous system too much as you might get anxiety, agitation, and even tachycardia in rare cases. Nevertheless, since it is an stimulant, it helps you in burning your belly fat. The health benefits coffee gives you completely offset the symptoms you get if you drink it too much.

Below, a cappuccino, an espresso coffee with steamed milk, which is very popular in Italy, France, Argentina, and Uruguay.

 

Biggest Health Hazard

The biggest health hazard for your body and organs is not any infectious or metabolic disease. The # 1 hazard for your health is the industry that sells you drugs that are supposed to heal and cure you of illnesses. The pharmaceutical industry, which is popularly known as big pharma, has attracted corrupt investors in the last 70 years as it converted in a crooked corporation run by billionaires with psychopathic personality. These obscure investors seem to be constantly planning, not to cure you but to make you even sicker and addicted, so they can make tons of money. A healthy population, with intelligence and emotionally stable, is not profitable for this industry.

What is profitable for them is a population that suffer from chronic diseases of all kind, such as diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, and anxiety-induced hypochondria. Thus, they have created a global mass media network that is constantly giving you pieces of ill advice on nutrition, on medical treatment, and even on how you must behave!

But what is worst, they have installed in your mind new patterns of thinking, creating a new culture; the fear of virus culture, the fear of being infected, which makes people liable to become alienated from one another, driving them into isolation, anxiety and despair. However, there is no new viral infectious diseases, such as the old yearly flu and colds, disguised as a spook so you desperately run to get injected with their latest products!

Watch this spell-binding news/documentary done by the Gravitas WION international television.

 

Health in the 19th Century

To have an insight into people's health in the 19th century, all you have to do is to take a look at the old daguerreotype photographs of cowboys, gunslingers, and farmers that lived in those days. In all these photos, you will not see a single obese American citizen as all of them look slim and fit, with flat stomachs and angular and lean faces. If you also take a look at 1900s daguerreotypes of the Argentinean gauchos, who were also slim and wiry, you will come to the conclusion that health and diet go hand in hand; what you eat determines what your physiological/metabolic condition is going to be.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, people did not eat much carbs as agriculture did not produce carbohydrates-containing products in large quantity as the mill industry had not developed the wheat flour refining technology. Meanwhile the sugar industry was still in a very primitive stage as beetroot and cane sugar was extremely expensive in the 19th century. As a result, in those days, the American diet was mainly based on meat (beef, pork, chicken), and plenty of eggs and they used tallow and lard to cook instead of vegetable oil.

Back then, they did not know margarine, which is made from unhealthy trans fat. They did not eat much carbs (pancake, maple syrup, cereal, potatoes, cookies, soda, beer, etc) as they used to have only bacon, eggs, and sausage for breakfast. Meat, eggs, and butter had not yet been vilified by big pharma, which control mass media; thus, diabetes, cancer, and neurological conditions (multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, etc.) were virtually non-existent.

Back in the 19th century, people, especially children, died from other medical conditions, such as bacterial and fungal infections (meningitis, pneumonia, gangrene, septicemia (blood-poisoning), etc), because antibiotics (penicillin and sulfonamides) had not been discovered yet. If they were struck by measles or smallpox, which were viral diseases, sometimes they developed bacterial complications. Another cause of death was dehydration in old persons and especially during the feverish stages of a bacterial disease; you either lost a lot of fluids through perspiration or through a bacterial diarrhea when drinking stagnant waters. Intravenous route to hydrate a patient with fluids did not exist back then!

Below, a late 19th century cowboy and his breakfast (eggs and bacon). With his brain fasciculi fully developed, he had determination and will as he lived in a rough environment full of danger.

19th Century American breakfast, bacon and eggs.

Below, a 21st century's obese American, in the pre-diabetes phase and the beginning of coronary artery issues.

By Carlos B. Camacho, biological anthropologist

Palmaris Longus

The palmaris longus is a superficial, spindle-shaped muscle of forearm. It lies directly under the skin, on its anterior side, medially to the flexor carpi radialis. It originates from the medial epicondyle of humerus, the intermuscular septum, and the antebrachial fascia. Then it extends down along the forearm as it becomes a very long tendon which is inserted into the palmar aponeurosis (a hard fibrous sheet of connective tissue; like a flattened tendon).

Action

The function of the palmaris longus muscle is palmar flexion, tightening the palmar aponeurosis. It assists both the flexor carpi ulnaris and the radialis in flexing the hand inwardly towards the anterior side of forearm.

Innervation

It supplied by collateral branches of the medial nerve (C7-C8), which arises from the brachial plexus.

Blood Supply

It receives oxygenated blood from muscular branches of the radial artery.

Below, schematic picture of the superficial muscles of anterior aspect of right forearm, showing the palmaris longus muscle.

Flexor Carpi Radialis

The flexor carpi radialis is a long, flat and bipennate muscle. It lies on the antero-lateral aspect of forearm, laterally to all the other flexor muscles. It arises from the medial epicondyle of humerus and the antebrachial fascia. Then it travels downwards, running slightly obliquely as it stretches over to the radial side of forearm, covering the proximal portion of flexor digitorum profundus and flexor pollicis longus muscle.

In the distal portion of forearm, the flexor carpi radialis muscle ends up in a strong tendon which runs under the flexor retinaculum, by the side of the carpal tunnel (it does not pass through it). It is inserted into the base of the palmar surface of the second and third metacarpal bone. Proximally, it is covered by the aponeurosis of the biceps brachii and the palmaris longus muscle, while its remaining part is covered by fascia and skin.

Action

The flexor carpi radialis flexes the wrist (and hand) towards the radial bone.

Innervation

It is innervated by the median nerve (C6-C7), which arises from the brachial plexus.

Blood Supply

This forearm muscle is supplied by muscular branches of the radial artery.

Below, superficial muscles of the anterior side of forearm, showing the 

Supinator Muscle

The supinator muscle is thin and rhomboid-shaped. It lies on the lateroposterior surface of the proximal portion of forearm. It originates from the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, the supinator crest of ulna, and the capsule of the elbow-joint. It extends obliquely downwards and laterally on the posterior side of forearm. Then it twists around the upper end of radius, stretching medially. It is inserted into the anterior and lateral surface radius.

Action

When it is contracted, the supinator muscle causes supination of the forearm (lateral rotation, in opposition to the medial/inward rotation executed by the pronator teres). It also assists in extension of the upper limb at the elbow-joint portion.

Innervation

It is innervated by the side branches of the radial nerve (C5-C6-C7).

Blood Supply

The supinator muscle receives oxygen-rich blood from the radial recurrent and interosseous recurrent artery.

Above, the three muscles that rotate the forearm and hand in pronation and supination: the pronator teres, pronator quadratus, and supinator muscle.

 

Pronator Teres

The pronator teres is a thick and strong muscle which lies on the anterior side of proximal portion of forearm. It arises by two heads; the humeral head, which is the larger, originates from the medial epicondyle of humerus, the medial intermuscular septum, and the anterior brachial fascia. The ulnar head, on the other hand, arises from the medial edge of the tuberosity of ulna.

The two heads of the pronator teres muscle join together to form a thick muscular belly, which travels down obliquely and laterally as it stretches superficially over the head of the flexor carpi radialis muscle. It finally ends in a narrow tendon which is inserted into the middle third of the lateral surface of radius.

Action

The pronator teres has two functions; it pronates the forearm (it twists it inwardly), and it also helps and assists the biceps brachii in the flexion of forearm at the elbow-joint.

Innervation

This muscle is innervated by the median nerve (C6-C7).

Blood Supply

The pronator teres is supplied by branches of the brachial, ulnar, and radial artery.

Below, anterior view of right forearm, showing the three muscles that pronate and supinate it.

Anterior aspect of right forearm, showing the pronator teres extending superficially over the proximal portion of the flexor carpi radialis muscle.

 

Types of Tissue

There are four types of tissue that make up the body and organs of human beings. But before enumerating them, let us define what is a body tissue: it is a cluster of cells, which are similar in origin, form, and structure, all of them specialized to perform the same function.

1) Epithelial tissue- The epithelium covers the body, lines organ cavities, and constitutes the inner walls of blood vessels. According to the shape of the cells: there are cuboidal and squamous epithelium. Cuboidal cells have the shape of a cube and form the kidney tubules, while squamous epithelial cells are flat and overlapping, constituting the walls of capillaries and arteries. When epithelial cells line organ cavities and blood vessel walls, it is called endothelium.

2) Connective tissue- It is a fibrous structure which connects and support internal organs and forms bone. It also constitutes the outer layer of blood vessels (tunica externa). The fibers are composed of a protein which is called collagen, performing supportive and protective functions. Remember, aside from cartilage, tendons and the eye sclera, bone, adipose cells, and blood are also different forms of connective tissue.

3) Muscle tissue- The cells that make it up are specialized for contraction, to move a body part, to narrow the lumen of arteries, or perform peristalsis. From the structure point of view, there are two types: striated and smooth muscle tissue. Skeletal and heart muscle have a striated structure, while smooth muscle form the middle layer of blood vessels as well as the digestive tract walls (stomach and intestines). Skeletal muscular tissue is voluntary (we can contract them at will), while smooth and heart muscle are involuntary.

4) Nervous tissue- It is formed by nerve cells (neurons), which are highly specialized cells for generating and transmitting electro-chemical impulses, regulating body functions. Their efferent impulses contract our muscles, while the afferent impulses send visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile information to our brain, which is the hub of the nervous tissue.

Pronator Quadratus Muscle

The pronator quadratus muscle is thin and quadrangular, lying deep on the distal end of forearm. It is formed by transverse muscle fibers that stretch directly over the interosseous membrane. It arises from the distal end of palmar surface of ulna. Then it extends over sideways and laterally to be inserted into the palmar surface of radius on the same level. It is a fourth-layer muscle, which is partially covered by the tendons of the flexor digitorum superficialis and profundus as well as by the flexor pollicis longus muscle.

Action/Function

When contracted, the pronator quadratus pronates the distal end of forearm as it twists the hand around so that the palm faces downwards.

Innervation

This powerful square muscle is innervated by the median nerve (C6-C8).

Blood Supply

The pronator quadratus muscle is supplied by the anterior interosseous artery.

Below, the fourth-layer muscles of forearm, which rotate the forearm: pronator teres, supinator and pronator quadratus.

 

Puff Adder

The puff adder (Bitis arietans) is a large venomous viper whose natural habitat is the low lands of the southern portion of the African continent. Having cytotoxic venom, it is a dangerous snake that is responsible for many bites a year, some of which are fatal, especially when the patient is not treated. It belongs to the Viperinae sub-family of snake.

Description

The puff adder can grow up to 90 cm in length. It has a thick body, whose color ranges from yellowish brown or light brown, with dark chevron-like patterns on its dorsal (back) side. Males are more brightly colored that females. Its head is triangular is covered in smaller scales. It feeds on frogs, rats, and lizards, lying in wait, ready to attack.

Below the Bitis arietans