Human Body
How Does a Broken Bone Heal?
Bleeding and inflammation are followed by a soft callus that bridges the gap, then a mineralized hard callus. Long-term remodeling reshapes the repair into load-bearing bone.
BODY
Human Body
How the human body works—and the familiar claims we often get wrong.Human Body
What Makes the 'Hic' Sound in Hiccups?
A sudden diaphragm and breathing-muscle spasm creates a quick inhalation. The glottis then snaps shut, interrupting airflow and producing the characteristic sound.
Human Body
Why Do Your Ears Pop on Airplanes?
Cabin and middle-ear pressure can diverge and bend the eardrum. Swallowing or yawning opens the Eustachian tube, letting air move until pressure equalizes with a pop.
Human Body
Why Do Bruises Change Color?
Hemoglobin from leaked red cells is dismantled into products including biliverdin and bilirubin. Their changing pigments reveal the body's cleanup process.
Human Body
Why Do Fingers Wrinkle in Water?
Autonomic nerves constrict fingertip blood vessels, reducing inner volume so the skin folds. The effect is not merely water swelling the outer skin.
Human Body
Why the Stomach Does Not Digest Itself
A constantly renewed mucus-and-bicarbonate barrier protects the stomach lining from the acid and enzymes used to digest food.
Human Body
The Photograph That Opened a Window Into the Human Body
Röntgen's 1895 X-ray image of his wife's hand launched an era of seeing inside the body without surgery.
