Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

Prior to reading, I've noticed that the title of this chapter has not given away any clue as to what Shubin will encompass. Soon after I finished the first paragraph, I knew it will entail human skull and how it functions. I found it nightmarish that Shubin had to bisect a skull and cut open the bones of the cheek to study about cranial nerves. Although I had a slim insight in head anatomy, I was amazed by its complicating structure. Nevertheless, I learned that our skulls are made up of three parts that include plates, blocks, and rods. At first I always believed that when we chew and bite, we solely use muscle that lie in our mouth; however, that wasn't the case because we also use the muscles attached to the bones and organs in the head. It was interesting when Shubin compared the trigenminal's branches to t.v cables for they both carry information. In spite of this, I discovered that branch of the trigeminal plays a crucial role as it controls muscle and carries sensory information from our face back to our brain. Though it may seem that we easily smile and frown, it is the facial nerve that controls muscles; thus, an uneven smile is a sign that something is wrong with one's facial nerve. While I continued reading, it was ironic how we can only see a pattern of arches in an embryo, rather than an adult. Again, I was surprised that humans have similar traits as creatures such as shark and Amphioxus, a worm with gill slits. Overall, I came to a realization that head anatomy is mesmerizing and that science allows us to see a pattern in what seems chaotic.