Some stuff about the body that we learn about in medical school (number 3 is a little weird) [pt 1]

I'm sure as human beings, there are some questions about our bodies that we still do not have the answers to. I am also sure that one time or the other in our lives, we have all fallen ill or not been in our best of health. These two derivations comes from an assumption that most of us don't have a manual for the human body, and even though we learn over time what to do and what not to do in order to stay healthy, sometimes there are still some questions that we still can not answer. Today in this article, i will be adressing some of the weird questions i have asked myself and i do hope that as i answer them according to what we have learned over here, you get enlightened too.

---

1. How do drugs know their way around the body when they've never been there before?

---

Link

Drugs definitely do not have a mind of their own, so why is it that when we take panadol or ibuprofen, the pain in ourhead or certain part of the body just disappears?. Allow me to break it down.

When drugs are ingested, they follow the oesophagus (throat) and get into our stomach, our small intestine and then finally our liver, which then breaks these drugs down and releases the important remnants of these drugs into important blood vessels that supply the body.

Now here is a mildly complex part. These drug remnants they flow through the body via the blood will only adhere to specific "receptors". It is these receptors that help the drugs to actually pinpoint where to act, as they only get to wrk when the adhere to their respectful receptors.

---

2. What is our hair made of?

---

Link

Every one of us has hair! If you do not have hair, you are not human, i mean even aliens sometimes have hair, so why wouldn't you?!. Anyways, i formwrly wondered why our hair strands grow in different paces in different people, and never really understood their composition, so here is tge answer to the question of "what really is our hair made of?".

Hair is made of a protein known as keratin. Keratin is a protein that does not dissolve in water, and it is what coats the hair all round, if not, showers would be more dramatic. The hair is also made of about 17 other proteins which infact dissolve in water (not all of them), and a very improtant content which most of us know as melanin. Melanin is what gives our hair color, if it didn't, we would all look like descendants of santa clause.

---

3. Why does it feel good when we poop?

---

Link

I have always asked myself this question, and i never really understood it, till i understood the plexus of nerves (a junction of a group of nerves) around the anus. When we poop, we contract certain muscles in our lower abdomen and our anal sphincter, which are supplied by a nerve known as the vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve originates from the brainstem, meaning that the feeling of contraction and relaxation has a direct pathway to the brain. The vagus nerve is also known as a key nerve in regulating heart rate and blood pressure because it has affiliations with the heart.

So when we poop, we stimulate the vagus nerve, which is connected to drop of blood pressure and heart rate, causing a total sense of relief and relaxation, and to make this sound even weirder, the bigger the stool we conquer, the more relaxed we feel after conquering it.

---

Conclusion

---

The human body is complex and very organized. Most of us don't really think about our well neing or the signs that our body is giving us till it's too late, in medical school, we are taught about some of the symptoms we might experience when there is a faulty organ or system, and would like to continue sharing this kind of content with you all as much as i can. If you have a question about your body, you can drop it in the comments, and in my next post i can answer them to my best knowledge. Thank you for reading this far if you did and see you next time, ciao!