Femoral Artery

The femoral artery is the main blood vessel of the thigh, supplying oxygen-rich blood to muscles, fascia and bone. It is the terminal branch or continuation of the external iliac artery. It is called femoral once it has gone beyond the inguinal ligament (the anatomical boundary between the two arteries. Let us remember that the external iliac is one of the two branches the common iliac artery divides. (The common iliac arises in turn from the abdominal aorta).

Having run for about 4 or 5 cm, the femoral artery gives off its largest branch, which is the profunda femoris artery (deep femoral), that provides oxygen rich blood to femur and deep muscles of thigh.

Having sent off smaller branches to supply muscles (lower portion of quadriceps and biceps femoral), the femoral artery keeps running down as it curves around behind the knee and becomes the popliteal artery, which supplies the knee-joint and leg.

The venous counterpart of the femoral artery is the femoral vein. It takes essentially the same course as the femoral artery but transports blood in the opposite direction: toward the heart.

Below, a schematic picture of the femoral artery and its main branches, like the deep femoral, the medial circumflex femoral, the lateral circumflex femoral, and perforating arteries.

Inguinal Ligament

The inguinal ligament is a paired fibrous cord of connective tissue located at the bottom corners of the abdominal region on each side of mid line of abdomen. It originates from the anterior-superior spine of the ilium. Then it extends medially, traveling obliquely down to be inserted into the spine of pubic bone. It is situated slightly below the inguinal canal. The inguinal ligament constitutes the thickened lower portion of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle of abdomen.

In medicine, it is used as an anatomical boundary, or landmark, for the main artery supplying the lower limb, which is the external iliac/femoral artery. It is also the boundary for the main vein draining it, and main nerve supplying the muscles of thigh and leg. It means that all three of them, which are wrapped in the femoral sheath, change their names as they run down beneath and beyond the inguinal ligament. For example, the external iliac artery becomes the femoral artery as it travels down beyond the inguinal ligament, and the femoral vein becomes the external iliac vein as it leaves the thigh running into the lower abdomen.

Below, schematic drawing of the inguinal region and thigh, showing the main arteries and muscles as well as the inguinal ligament.

 

Inguinal Canal

The inguinal canal (canalis inguinalis) is a 5-cm-long passage located in the lower part of the abdominal wall. It holds the spermatic cord in the male and the round ligament of the uterus in the female. It travels laterally, obliquely, and upwards from the superficial inguinal ring above the superior ramus of the pubic bone to the deep inguinal ring, which is situated about 1.5 cm above the medial section of inguinal ligament. The anterior wall of the inguinal canal is formed by the aponeurosis of external oblique muscle, and the posterior wall by the transversalis fascia.

The superficial inguinal ring is an oval opening about 2.5 cm in diameter, located right above the pubic bone. The deep inguinal ring, which is at the other end, is the entrance opening to the inguinal canal as the superficial inguinal ring is the exit. The inferior epigastric artery and veins run medially of the deep inguinal ring as this fact must be borne in mind when the deep inguinal ring has to be cut in incarcerated hernia. Meanwhile, the spermatic cord is a round bundle which consists of the pampiniform plexus (venous network), the vas deference (which carries spermatozoa), the testicular artery, and nerves.

Below, an schematic drawing of the inguinal canal and other anatomical structures of the inguinal region of a male

 

ABC of Health

The abc of health are nutrition, hydration, and rest. These are the three foundational stones for a good metabolic, physiological, and immunological condition of the human body. Following these basics, you should not fear any infectious and metabolic disease as the abc of health is supported by historical evidence. Since the dawn of mankind, human beings have had to fight for survival, and this means they have had to strive to procure their high quality nourishment rich in calories, the water source (river, creek, etc), and rest.

Nutrition

As a creature that walked about and ran all day long, primitive men greatly appreciated food with the highest amount of calories. They needed it for his developing brain and muscles, and this highly valued food was saturated fat. And where he found fat, he also found the richest sources of vitamin B12, B6, B1, zinc, vitamin A (retinol), iron, and the twelve essential amino acids. These sources were red meat, the bone it was attached to, and the liver of the animal they hunted; long bones holds the nutritious marrow inside, while the liver is the richest source of vitamin B12 and A. Vitamin B12, A, and zinc not only are essential for the development of the brain fasciculi, but they are also vital for a strong immune system.

Historical records have shown us that whenever famine strikes, there are outbreaks of infectious diseases, which sometimes become pandemic. And famine usually strikes during armed conflicts. During the Hundred Years War in Europe, there were outbreaks of smallpox and the bubonic plague, known as the Black Death. When the German Sixth Army got trapped in Stalingrad, the troops began suffering from starvation. It was then when infectious diseases broke out, even diseases which were supposed to attack only children or they were not supposed to suffer from because they had been vaccinated against, such as measles, chickenpox and smallpox respectively! aside from the flu, cold, and scurvy. When you suffer from kwashiorkor (lack of proteins), the Pandora's Box of infectious diseases break out.

Hydration

When you are not well hydrated you feel fatigue as the main symptom, but if you are severely dehydrated you suffer from headache, confusion, mental disorder, and even seizures. Secretion of digestive glands is also severely reduced as the blood thickens, becoming viscous. When you are severely dehydrated, there is disruption of renal function. Since your blood circulation has been altered, your immune system is also affected. Thus, it is a vital must to drink enough water, especially in Summer and in tropical countries. Hydration must be accompanied by salts consumption because your body needs electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium).

Rest

To be able to rest, you must be calm. You do not have to worry about anything in order to be able to relax. And this means the absence of adrenaline/cortisol, which is usually generated under anxiety, stress, fear, and sadness (depression). Too much cortisol is inflammatory and weakens the immune system as it hinders the lymphocyte B function of identifying and marking the pathogenic viruses and bacteria. Adrenaline can be likened to a thick fog that blocks your vision when you are driving along a road and you become confused. Thus, cortisol excess confuses the immune system and, along with high sugar and insulin levels, it can cause autoimmune disorders.

To get rid of stress and anxiety, the best medicine is human contact, to feel the skin of another human being, someone you know and love. A hug, a caress and a kiss is the best medicine to make you relax and calm. Human contact (from a mother, a father, a wife, a husband, a girl/boy friend, a sister, a brother) is essential to have a good rest and be able to sleep tight at night. This is something elite psychopathic billionaires and politicians will never understand as they want you isolated, apart from one another, as mass media gives you the daily heavy dose of fear and anxiety, just because they want you to be afraid; they want you to be sick...

By Carlos B. Camacho, physical anthropologist.

Perforating Arteries

The perforating arteries are three, sometimes four, blood vessels which supply most muscles of the thigh. They originate from the lateral side of the deep femoral artery (profunda femoris), which is the main branch of the femoral artery. Once they have arisen, they travels laterally and backwards to the posterior aspect of thigh at the line of insertion of the adductor muscles to the femur.

The first perforating artery originates at the level of the lower border of the pectineus muscle. The second one emerges at the lower border of the adductor brevis muscle. Meanwhile, the third perforating arises right below the adductor longus. All three branches pierce the adductor muscles at the sites of insertion to the femur. As they runs backward behind the femur, they give off side branches to supply the three adductor, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris muscles as well as the skin of this region of thigh.

The second and third perforating artery also send smaller collateral branches which supply the femur and the tendons attached to it.

Below, picture showing the femoral, profunda femoris, medial circumflex femoral, lateral circumflex femoral, the perforating arteries, and the adductor muscles they supply

 

Lab-Grown Meat

Why lab-grown meat is not good for you? It is not good for you because it is basically cancerous tissue. In other words, that meat is not nutrious and it is tasteless. The main reason you should not eat it is the fact that it doesn’t have vitamin B12, B1, B3, zinc, and the twelve essential amino acids. These are essential nutrients to develop a healthy brain and immune system and this cancerous artificial meat lacks them. Besides, you don’t know whether it is manufactured using human, dog, cat, or rat muscle fiber DNA. That’s something that you cannot see and control.

The essential nutrients you brain nerve cells and immune system need can only be synthesized and produced by an animal (ruminant) digestive system, as it eats grass, with the intervention of its gut flora (bacteria) and the animal liver in a natural way. This lab-grown meat is the equivalent to cancer tissue, because it is not an integral part of any living animal system, and it doesn’t perform any function at all (it is not attached to any bone). The people who want to impose this trash on you are powerful and they will tell you a lot of lies to convince you. Don’t believe them. There is nothing like natural meat (beef) from a real cow/goat/sheep/pig/chicken/fish!

These lab muscular fiber cells multiply fast, consuming large amount of glucose. However, like cancer cells, its very scarce number of mitochondria do not produce ATP at all, like any ordinary cell in an animal body does. This is so because, aside from being scarce, these mitochondria do not function at all. Thus, there is no ATP production, just like in cancer tissue. And like a cluster of cancer cells, these muscular fibers are isolated, not related to any other tissue.

Middle Genicular Artery

The middle genicular artery is a deep blood vessel of the knee region. It originates from the anterior side of the popliteal artery, which in turn is the continuation of the femoral in the popliteal fossa. Then it extends forwards, piercing the capsule of the knee-joint, right above the oblique posterior ligament of the knee.

During its course the middle genicular artery sends small branches which supply the synovial membrane of the joint and the cruciate ligaments. The terminal branches of this oxygen-rich blood vessel anastomose with other secondary branches arising from the medial inferior genicular, the lateral inferior genicular, and sural artery, forming part of the arterial network that supply the knee region.

Below, a drawing of the posterior aspect of the right knee, showing the popliteal with its branches, which include the middle genicular artery.

 

Lateral Circumflex Femoral Artery

The lateral circumflex femoral artery is a deep arterial branch of the human thigh. This oxygen-rich blood vessel arises from the first portion of the profunda femoris artery (deep femoral a.), as one of its two main branches, the other being the medial circumflex femoral artery. The profunda femoris originates in turn from the femoral artery proper as its main branch.

From its point of origin, the lateral circumflex femoral artery runs laterally and slightly downwards, as it travels towards the lateral aspect of thigh, crossing the femoral nerve. Having traveled a very short course, it divides into three main branches; the ascending, the transverse, and the descending branches of the lateral circumflex femoral artery.

Function

The ascending branch of the lateral circumflex f. a. supplies the gluteus medius, the heads of the sartorius and vastus intermedius muscle, as well as the head of the femur bone and its ligaments. Meanwhile, the descending branch irrigates the heads of the vastus externus and the rectus femoris muscle.

Below, drawing of the arteries of upper thigh, showing the femoral proper, the deep femoral, the medial circumflex f. a., and the lateral circumflex femoral artery, which divides into an ascending and a descending branch.

 

Arcuate Fasciculus

The arcuate fasciculus is the thick bundle of myelinated nerve fibers which links up the Broca's area with the Wernicke's area, which are the two language centers of the brain. Thus, this cerebral fiber track goes from the inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe to the posterior area of the temporal lobe's superior gyrus, overlapping a small area in the parietal lobe, and vice versa. The human being is the only primate endowed with this bundle of cortical neuron axons.

Function

The function of the arcuate fasciculus is to make possible human speech, language. It articulates or coordinates the motor verbal function of the Broca's area in the frontal lobe with the semantic and syntactic comprehension of the Wernicke's area in the temporal-parietal region.

Damage to the arcuate fasciculus can cause a form of aphasia known as conduction aphasia, where auditory comprehension and speech articulation are preserved, but people find it difficult to repeat heard speech.

Below, drawing/diagram of the different internal nerve fiber bundles of the brain, showing the arcuate fasciculus, which is number 5.

 

Profunda Femoris Artery

The profunda femoris artery, also known as the deep femoral, is the largest branch of the femoral artery. It gives off several important branches, with a tortuous course, supplying deep muscles of the thigh as well as the femur bone.

The profunda femoris artery arises from the posterior side of femoral artery, about 4 cm below the inguinal ligament. Then it extends across the iliopsoas and pectineus muscle, running laterally at first, next downwards behind the femoral artery. It travels between the vastus medialis and the adductor muscle. Finally, it ends up in the lower third portion of thigh.

Branches

As soon as the profunda femoris begins to run laterally and downwards, it gives off its two main branches; the medial circumflex femoral, which travels medially behind and around the neck of femur, and the lateral circumflex femoral artery, which stretches laterally to fork into an ascending and a descending branch. These two branches supply the pectineus, the adductor brevis, upper portion of vastus intermedius, and adductor longus muscle.

As it runs downwards, parallel to the femur bone, the profunda femoris gives off three deep branches; they are called the perforating arteries, the first, second and third, which supply the femur bone, and the lower portion of vastus intermedius and the adductor magnus muscle.

Below, a drawing of the thigh, exhibiting the femoral and the profunda femoris arteries, with its branches.

Medial Circumflex Femoral Artery

The medial circumflex femoral artery is an oxygen-rich blood vessel of the upper portion of thigh. It originates from the medial side of the profunda femoris artery, which is the main branch of the femoral proper. First, it runs medially and slightly downwards, making its way between the iliopsoas and pectineus muscle. Then the medial circumflex femoral travels backwards as it runs deep into the adductor muscles. Finally, it winds round the neck of the femur bone, anastomosing with the inferior gluteal and the superior gluteal artery, as well as with the lateral circumflex femoral artery, which is called the cruciate anastomosis.

Along its tortuous course, this first branch of the deep femoral artery sends several branches that supply the muscles of the upper portion of thigh as well as the proximal end (upper portion) of femur.

Branches

The medial circumflex femoral gives off the following branches:

a) Transverse branch, which stretches downwards and medially, supplying the adductor longus, adductor brevis as well as the gracilis and obturator externus muscles.

b) Deep branch, which is the last portion of the medial circumflex artery, dividing into an ascending and a descending branch.

c) Acetabular branch, which irrigates the acetabulum (a cup-shaped depression on the lateral surface of the hip bone).

d) Ascending branch, which anastomoses with the inferior gluteal artery as it supplies portions of the quadratus femoris and gluteus minimus muscle.

Below, two diagrams of the arteries of thigh, with the femoral, the deep femoral and the medial circumflex femoral artery being among the most important ones.

 

Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus

The superior longitudinal fasciculus is a thick and long bundle of myelinated axons which links the frontal lobe to the occipital, and part of the parietal and temporal lobes of each cerebral hemisphere. The association fibers that constitute the superior longitudinal fasciculus are bi-directional, which means that some axons originate in cortical neurons of the frontal lobe, while others in neurons located in the occipital and back regions of the temporal and parietal lobes, integrating motor and decision-making centers with visual and sensory ones. The superior longitudinal fasciculus sweeps along the superior margin of the claustrum in a great arc.

The superior longitudinal fasciculus consists of three distinct components: 1) SLF I is the dorsal component and originates in the superior and medial parietal cortex, passes around the cingulate sulcus and terminates in the dorsal and medial cortex of the frontal lobe and in the supplementary motor cortex; 2) SLF II is the major component of SLF and originates in the caudal-inferior parietal cortex and occipital lobe, ending in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann 6, 8 and 46); 3) SLF III is the ventral component which begins in the supramarginal gyrus (rostral portion of the inferior parietal lobe) and ends in the ventral premotor and prefrontal cortex (Brodmann 6, 44, and 46).

 

Frontal Lobe

The frontal lobe is the anterior portion of the human cerebral cortex; there is one in each cerebral hemisphere. The Roland fissure (central sulcus) separates it from the parietal lobe, while the Sylvian fissure from the temporal lobe. It is largest lobe of each cerebral hemisphere and is separated from the parietal lobe by the central sulcus of Rolando and from the temporal lobe by the lateral sulcus. The frontal lobe is responsible for the control of skilled motor activity, including speech.

In the frontal lobe, there are four important gyri. Roughly parallel and anterior to the central sulcus is the Precentral Gyrus, which is also called the motor strip. The precentral gyrus represents the primary motor cortex. This motor cortical area contains motor neurons whose axons extend to the spinal cord and brain stem and synapse on motor neurons in the spinal cord. Besides the roughly vertical Precentral Sulcus (anterior to the precentral gyrus), there are two additional sulci that are sort of diagonal. These sulci provide boundaries for important frontal gyri: the Superior Frontal Gyrus, the Middle Frontal Gyrus, and the Inferior Frontal Gyrus. The most anterior region of the frontal lobe is called the prefrontal cortex and includes all three of these gyri.

The frontal lobe integrates and coordinates all the other regions of the cerebral cortex and is the emotional control center and home to our personality. Injuries sustained by the frontal lobe can cause a wide variety of symptoms. The frontal lobe is involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior. The frontal lobes are extremely vulnerable to injury due to their location at the front of the cranium, proximity to the sphenoid wing and their large size. MRI studies have shown that the frontal area is the most common region of injury following mild to moderate traumatic brain injury.

There are asymmetrical differences between the two frontal lobes. The left frontal lobe is involved in controlling language related movement, while the right frontal lobe plays a role in non-verbal abilities. The executive functions of the frontal lobes include the capacity to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to suppress unacceptable social responses, choose between good and bad actions, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. In other words, it is involved in higher mental functions.

The frontal lobe reaches full maturity around age 25, marking the cognitive maturity associated with adulthood. It has been found increased myelin in the frontal lobe white matter of young adults compared to that of teens. A typical onset of schizophrenia in early adult years correlates with poorly myelinated and thus inefficient connections between nerve cells in the fore-brain. The frontal lobe of the brain acts like a cerebral projecting lens as mind that governs brain. When the lens-like frontal function fails, as in schizophrenia, the mind disintegrates.

The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, long-term memory, planning, and drive. This neurotransmitter tends to limit and select sensory information arriving from the thalamus to the fore-brain.

Below, picture of brain, showing the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobe.

Uncinate Fasciculus

The uncinate fasciculus is a thick bundle of cortical neuron myelinated axons in the human brain. It links up the inferior portion of the frontal lobe with the anterior temporal lobe and parts of the limbic system, such as the hippocampus and amygdala that are located in this lobe. It is the last fasciculus to mature in the brain (beyond the age of 30). The average length of the uncinate fasciculus is 45 mm. It has three parts: a frontal extension, an intermediary segment, and a temporal segment. This tract of nerve fibers is hook-shaped, running from the inferior frontal gyrus and the lower surfaces of the frontal lobe to the forward portions of the temporal lobe.

Uncinate Fasciculus and Schizophrenia

In the last couple of decades, it has been established that a disruption in connectivity between different brain regions, especially between the frontal and temporal lobes, linked up by the uncinate fasciculus, may partly explain some of the primary symptoms of schizophrenia. This idea, first proposed by Wernicke in 1906, posits a disturbance in functional connectivity between the frontal and temporal cortices in schizophrenia that might have as its basis a disruption in the white matter tracts connecting them. Abnormalities within the fiber bundles of the uncinate fasciculus associate with social anxiety, Alzheimer's disease, bipolar disorder, and depression in the elderly that had first had it in adolescence or early adulthood. Such abnormalities also link to schizophrenia.

Below, colored drawings showing the uncinate fasciculus (#8) and other association fibers in the human brain.

 

Human Taxonomy

The human taxonomy is the classification and categorization of Homo sapiens. When we classify the human being, we analyze them to see the physical traits that make her/him unique. In doing so, we observe what humans have that other vertebrate animals do not. However, when we do this, we also see what he has in common with other living creatures of the animal kingdom. Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish biologist, was the first man who did a taxonomy in biology as he made a general classification of plants and animals, using Latin words to label them.

Below, you can see a diagram of the human being taxonomy. By using the Latin word "sapiens" to designate the species she/he belongs to, we are separating her/him as distinct and special, for this word means "wise", and this is what makes her/him unique. He is the only animal on planet Earth capable of reasoning, planning, and producing speech as a medium to express their thoughts.

As you can see, he belongs to the kingdom: Animalia, and to the grade metazoan, which means he is a multicellular living entity, with different tissues and specialized organs. We put him in the phylum Chordata and the subphylum Vertebrata, which means she is endowed with a spinal chord and a vertebral column respectively. He is also classified as belonging to the Mammalia class of animals, which means the female has special glands that secretes milk, which differentiates her from reptiles and birds, which do not have such glands as they lay eggs.

He belongs to the order Primate, which means he has a stereoscopic vision, with one eye beside the other, a face, and hands. When we say he belongs to the family of Hominidae, we mean he does not slouch as he stands and walks in an erect gait, with the foramen magnum located at the center of his skull. We differentiate him even further by asserting that he belongs to the genus Homo, which means he is endowed with a pair of skilled hands, with a strong thumb opposing the other four fingers; thus, he is able to make hunting tools out of stone, such as spearheads and hand axes, but he is also able to make fire. Finally, we categorize her/him as being completely distinct from the rest of animals by saying she is sapiens as species, which means she/he is "wise".

Thus, not only is Homo sapiens capable of making tools, fire and homes, but she is also able to express her thoughts through speech, with the female and the male constituting one solid whole and indivisible species as it takes the two of them to perpetuate the existence of Homo sapiens. A male infant needs her mother for survival, self-esteem, and self-awareness as unique upon this Earth. This is the main reason that in most cultures, the deity representing wisdom and life was always a female; in ancient Athens it was Athena; in ancient Rome, it was Minerva; in most pre-columbian cultures of America continent, it was also a goddess that represented wisdom, protection, and life, such as Pacha-Mama in Peru and Bolivia. Two men alone on Earth would become extinct!

Below, human taxonomy diagram

 

Right Atrium

The right atrium is the upper cavity of the heart which lies on its right side. It is separated from the left atrium by the interatrial septum. Like the other three chambers, it is lined with endocardium, which is a thin membrane composed of endothelial tissue. It is irregularly cuboidal in shape, with the apex forming an anteriorly directed ear-shaped portion, which is called the auricle of the right atrium, which is shaped like a flattened cone.  The apex of this cone is directed to the left, towards the pulmonary trunk.

The right atrium is communicated with the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve, which consists of three muscular flaps that open and close to regulate the flow of deoxygenated blood from the right atrium into the right ventricle. The superior and inferior venae cavae, the coronary sinus, and small veins of the heart proper enter the right atrium. The coronary sinus collects the blood from most of the veins of the heart, emptying it into the right atrium.

The superior vena cava, which drains deoxygenated blood from the head and upper limbs, enters the right atrium at the junction of superior and anterior walls by means of the opening of the superior vena cava (ostium vena cava superioris). The inferior vena cava, which drains blood from the lower limbs and abdomen, enters this cavity at the junction of the superior and posterior walls through the opening for the inferior vena cava (ostium vena cava inferioris).

The posterior wall of the right atrium contains the sinoatrial node, which is a collection of specialized cardiac fiber, acting as a pacemaker. It generates electro-chemical impulses for the autonomic contraction of the heart muscle. Meanwhile, the left wall of the right atrium (interatrial septum) holds the atrioventricular node, which relays electro-chemical impulses from the sinoatrial node to the ventricles.

Below, the human heart, with its different parts, showing its chambers, which include the right atrium