Category: CREATURES
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Ecdysis: Nature’s Grand Wardrobe Change
Darling, buckle up your exoskeletons because we’re about to sashay into the most FABULOUS biological runway show ever â it’s ECDYSIS, honey! đđ⨠Picture this: You’re a gorgeous little arthropod, feeling a bit tight in your current outfit. But fear not! Mother Nature’s got you covered with the most extravagant wardrobe change this side of…
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Cephalothorax aka prosoma
The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind.[1] (The terms prosoma and opisthosoma are equivalent to cephalothorax and abdomen in some groups. The terms prosoma and opisthosoma may be preferred by some researchers in cases such as arachnids, where there is neither fossil nor embryonic evidence animals in this class have ever had separate heads and thoraxes, and…
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Asynchronous Muscles
Asynchronous muscles are muscles in which there is no one-to-one relationship between electrical stimulation and mechanical contraction. These muscles are found in 75% of flying insects and have convergently evolved 7-10 times.[1] Unlike their synchronous counterparts that contract once per neural signal, mechanical oscillations trigger force production in asynchronous muscles. Typically, the rate of mechanical contraction is an order of magnitude…
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Thorax (arthropod anatomy)
The thorax is the midsection (tagma) of the hexapod body (insects and entognathans). It holds the head, legs, wings and abdomen. It is also called mesosoma or cephalothorax in other arthropods. It is formed by the prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax and comprises the scutellum; the cervix, a membrane that separates the head from the thorax; and the pleuron, a lateral sclerite of the thorax. In dragonflies and damselflies the mesothorax and metathorax are fused together to form the synthorax.[1][2] In…
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Egg Case (mermaid’s Purse)
An egg case or egg capsule, often colloquially called a mermaid’s purse, is the casing that surrounds the eggs of oviparous chondrichthyans. Living chondricthyans that produce egg cases include some sharks, skates and chimaeras. Egg cases typically contain one embryo, except for big skate and mottled skate egg cases, which contain up to 7 embryos.[1] Oviparity is completely absent in the superorder Squalomorphii.[2][3] Egg cases are also thought to have been produced by some extinct…
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Magical Mantis Mojo
Hold onto your ootheca, folks, because we’re about to dive deep into the wild world of Sang Piao Xiao! đđĽđŹ Imagine you’re an ancient Chinese healer, strolling through a mulberry grove, when suddenly you spot a peculiar foam-like structure clinging to a branch. “Eureka!” you exclaim (in ancient Chinese, of course). “This mantis egg case…
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Ootheca
Buckle up, bug lovers, because we’re about to embark on a wild ride through the wacky world of oothecae! đđĽđ˘ Picture this: You’re a lady mantis, feeling frisky after a hot date (and maybe a little post-coital cannibalism, because why not?). But instead of popping out eggs willy-nilly like some common housefly, you’ve got a…
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Ascus (bethesda System)
The Bethesda system (TBS), officially called The Bethesda System for Reporting Cervical Cytology, is a system for reporting cervical or vaginal cytologic diagnoses,[1] used for reporting Pap smear results. It was introduced in 1988[2] and revised in 1991,[3] 2001,[1][4][5] and 2014.[6] The name comes from the location (Bethesda, Maryland) of the conference, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, that established the system. Since 2010, there is also a…
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Relaxin
We’re about to dive into the wild world of Relaxin, the protein hormone that’s been turning heads since 1926 when Frederick Hisaw first stumbled upon it. This isn’t your average hormone – it’s a multitasking marvel that’s about to blow your mind! Researchers say this tiny protein, barely 6000 Da in size, is strutting around…
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Theca folliculi
The theca folliculi comprise a layer of the ovarian follicles. They appear as the follicles become secondary follicles. The theca are divided into two layers, the theca interna and the theca externa.[1] Theca cells are a group of endocrine cells in the ovary made up of connective tissue surrounding the follicle. They have many diverse functions, including promoting folliculogenesis and recruitment of a single…
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Theca
In biology, a theca (pl.: thecae) is a sheath or a covering. Botany The typical anther is bilocular, i.e. it consists of two thecae. Each theca contains two microsporangia, also known as pollen sacs. The microsporangia produce the microspores, which for seed plants are known as pollen grains. If the pollen sacs are not adjacent, or if they open separately, then no thecae are…
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Freemartin
A freemartin or free-martin (sometimes martin heifer) is an infertile female cattle with masculinized behavior and non-functioning ovaries.[1] Phenotypically, the animal appears female, but various aspects of female reproductive development are altered due to acquisition of anti-MĂźllerian hormone from the male twin.[2] Genetically, the animal is chimeric: karyotypy of a sample of cells shows XX/XY chromosomes. The animal originates as a female (XX), but acquires the male (XY) component in utero by exchange of…
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embryonic intrigue that’ll make your buccopharyngeal membrane quiver with excitement!
Picture, if you will, the humble beginnings of life, where a thin membrane known as the buccopharyngeal membrane (or oropharyngeal membrane for those who like their words extra fancy) plays the role of the ultimate gatekeeper between the primitive mouth and pharynx. It’s like nature’s very own “You shall not pass!” moment, but with fewer…
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Rete pegs (aka rete processes or rete ridges or papillae) are epithelial extensions that project into the underlying connective tissue in both skin and mucous membranes.
In the epithelium of the mouth, the attached gingiva exhibit rete pegs, while the sulcular and junctional epithelia do not. Scar tissue lacks rete pegs and scars tend to shear off more easily than normal tissue as a result. Ira D. Papel (2011). Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (Third ed.). USA: Thieme Medical Publishers. p. 7. ISBN 9781588905154. Also known as papillae, they are downward thickenings of the epidermis between the dermal…
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Thermolysin – The Tiny Terminator of Plasma Proteins!
Both thermolysin and snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) share a similar mechanism of action, utilizing zinc ions to hydrolyze peptide bonds in proteins
