Chapter Five

I liked the way that Shubin began the chapter and engaged me in his night in the laboratory. Although I knew that this chapter was going to be about the head just by reading the title, I did not really know what to expect to learn about. The head and everything within it is extremely complicated so there was a wide variety of things that Shubin could have talked about.

As Shubin was talking about the cranial nerves, especially the trigeminal and facial nerves, I was a little confused because the information is pretty complex, but Shubin's diagrams and explanations helped me. I had no idea that so many organs, muscles, nerves, and more were jumbled up in our heads. Well, I always knew that the head is an extremely complex structure, but I did not realize how hard working it is. Also, I thought it was interesting that a single jab of anesthetic along one branch can numb various parts of the tooth row. I also found it interesting to discover the names of some of the muscles in the face and head such as the depressor anguli oris. I think it's amazing that a single nerve can do so much. For example, the facial nerve controls muscles, allowing us to have facial expressions, and relays sensory information.

When Shubin was discussing the arches in an embryo, I started thinking about when I went to see Body Worlds, the science exhibit that showed and explained bodies with their muscles and organs. At this exhibit I saw embryos and fetuses in various stages. As Shubin talked about the arches, and the growth into a human, I remembered seeing the drastic changes in the embryos as they progressed into a human. Reflecting on this experience helped me understand what Shubin was talking about.

Comparing us to sharks, lawyers, and even worms really helped bring everything that Shubin was talking about together for me. I was able to visually see similarities and make better sense of Shubin's explanations of the head as he explained how we are connected to Amphioxus and sharks.