Anatomical Oddities

Product Information

From acclaimed science writer, presenter, and illustrator Alice Roberts, a visual and linguistic adventure through the strange, astonishing worlds within our anatomy. 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 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. Of course, as someone who loves medical history, any book that delves into the discussion of the various nooks and crannies of the human body is right up my alley. In the book, each term is illuminated by the author’s own illustrations with a complete discussion of the term’s etymology and history of discovery. 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.

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. 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 Times 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.Gorgeous and full of wise quotes and stories that we would all do well to heed in today’s crazy world.”— Jim Al-Khalili

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 Every part of the human body has a name—and story. But how familiar are you with your arachnoid mater or your Haversian canals? 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 Anatomical Oddities explores the less-familiar realms of the body, unveiling the mysteries etched into the most outlandish landscapes hidden inside all of us: 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. 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 MacfarlaneThis article was originally published with the title "If Humans Were Built to Last" in SA Special Editions 24, 1s, 106-111 (March 2015) Every part of the human body has a name - and story. But how familiar are you with your arachnoid mater or your Haversian canals? Anatomical Oddities is an artistic and linguistic adventure, taking the reader on a journey to discover the hidden landscape of the human body: its crypts and caverns, gorges, islets and mountains. Along the way, we dip into the history of our relationship with the human body and the discoveries that paved the way for modern anatomy and medicine.

An excellent point of entry for anyone who wants to understand the new deep human history and what it portends.”— Guardian Roberts's engagingly personal style connects you to your ancestors, to your own personal beginnings as a single cell and, in a most attractive way, to herself as an author of great charm. From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself.”— Richard Dawkins Highlights the amazing abilities of the human body. . . . As a compendium of anatomical trivia, this entertains.”—Publishers Weekly

Table of Contents

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. As someone who loved taking Anatomy and Physiology in college, I found it helpful to understand the origin of the various anatomical and physiological terminology. The etymology of the terms—the study of the origin of words—was incredibly useful because it helped me understand and, most importantly for any exams, remember those words. Alice Roberts writes as a scholar with the intensity and flair of a novelist.”—Dan Snow, author, historian, and award-winning television presenter

Roberts . . . finds that our uniqueness is often more complicated and surprising than we could have imagined.” — ForbesThis book was both informative and amusing. The focus was on body parts and structures we seldom think of. Especially the artwork, both on the cover and between chapters of the book were illustrative, artistic, and often amusing. Throughout the book, the origins of anatomical words is spelled out in detail, with Greek, Latin, Proto-Indo-European, and a few others. The author makes comments about the words and what they mean, in the most amusing ways. This is certainly anything but a dry textbook of anatomy!