HUMAN ANATOMY KNEE

Even so, be extremely glad you are getting your dental treatments today in 2009 instead of back about five hundred years ago in 1509, when a toothache or tooth extraction required you to visit the local tooth barber-puller in the busy market place.

Back then, your treatment for a toothache meant you would have to lay on your back on the ground with your head between the tooth barber's knees. Next he would pour in your mouth a mixture of herbs and urine to kill all of your tooth worms. Back then a worm was thought to bore a hole in teeth, causing toothache, cavities and rot. Then, with a combination of demon purging incantations, and also invoking the supernatural help of Ea, god of the abyss, the tooth barber applies a mouth-burning wad of beeswax and acid to all of your teeth. Finally, to stop your toothache, one or more of your teeth would be pulled out of their sockets using knives, thumbs and fingers. He would pull, push and cut until the bad tooth was literally torn out of the gum.

In ancient Egypt as early as 2500 B.C. mummies from that time reveal that rich Egyptian high society suffered much loss of teeth. It is believed the cause; in spite of the morning ritual of "teeth cleaning" was because the rich people there ate large quantities of sugar in their food.

Around 2000 B.C. magic and superstition were replaced by a more rational medical philosophy. But that did not last very long, and soon the belief in the toothache demon and tooth worms was slowly revived. Incense, willow leaves, sina plant, myst liquid and sweet beer were used to fumigate and anoint the mouth of the one who had the toothache.

Some of the ancient Chinese recorded nine kinds of gum disease thought to be the result of "excessive sexual intercourse." In China toothaches were often treated with arsenic pills placed next to the offending tooth to kill the pain. Of course, the result was that the arsenic killed: nerves, nearby tissue, and sometimes stopped the toothache by killing the patient.

The Hindus, left written texts of the history of dentistry in their culture as it was around 4000 and 3000 B.C. They describe the anatomy of the mouth, pathology, treatment and oral hygiene. Interestingly they also believed toothworms to be the cause of cavities and toothaches. Even so they paid careful attention to the practice of a daily tooth cleaning ritual using the frayed end of a small twig from an aromatic plant. A paste of honey, oil and other ingredients was suggested to be used during the daily cleaning of teeth. They also developed a wide variety of tools for extracting teeth.

Hippocrates (around 460 B.C.) is thought to be the first to insist that medicine should not include magic and priestly incantations. His "humoral theory" explained that four bodily fluids were the main elements of both health and disease. He was an advocate of bloodletting, that later was to be used as a standard of medical practice right up to the twentieth century. He wrote in great detail about teeth, gums and tooth decay. He was one of the first to suggest that tooth decay was caused by the corrosive action of food and other debris found to be trapped between already weak teeth. 

In Rome, around 450 B.C. the leading citizens could have the gaps in their teeth filled with gold shell crowns which at that time was a new method of creating artificial replacements of missing teeth. They were rather crude false teeth only good for show, not to be used when eating. The gold shells inserted in the mouth and  fastened to nearby healthy natural teeth with gold wire and materials such as bone, boxwood, and ivory were carved to look like teeth and affixed to the gold shells.

It is believed that a tooth drawer named Celsus during the years between 25 B.C. and A.D. 50 filled the first cavity. The fillings were made of lint and lead. The purpose of the filling was to strengthen the empty shell of the tooth so the tooth puller would not shatter the tooth when it was squeezed with his forceps during extraction.

Now let's skip ahead to the years between 1460 and 1520 when an Italian surgeon named Giovanni d'Vigo advised preparation of the teeth before filling them with careful excavation and shaping of the cavities. They did this with: trephines, files, and scalpels. Next, the teeth were filled with gold leaf. At the same time, to prevent infection, arsenic was used to kill the tissue. This procedure was still in use until Novocain was introduced in the twentieth century.

The first time the term dentista (dentist) was used in print was when Ambrosise Pare, who was a military surgeon in the French army, wrote it in his journals about 1590. Later, in 1683 while using the then newly invented microscope, a Dutch tooth-drawer changed the world's view of teeth, mouth and other oral concerns with his reports of his discoveries and explanations of what he saw and learned about teeth and gums when using the microscope.

Then, in France, in 1728, Pierre Fauchard wrote of his experiences and discoveries in dental surgery. He also warned against dangerous methods then used to treat toothache in many of the city's unclean and shoddy tooth barbershops. Fauchard was also quite adept at using silk, linen and metal threads to fasten artificial teeth and bridges(false teeth) in place. Because he explained his methods freely to other tooth surgeons, his bold thinking and methods helped advance dental practice in many ways.

Now, skipping ahead to today in 2009, as you know, dentistry has become an accepted profession where reliable and safe operations are performed every day all over the world. If you have a toothache, your dentist will first ease your pain with an injection of Novocain, then he will use a high speed, water-cooled drill to repair (or remove) your aching tooth. 

Should you need to have one or more of your natural teeth removed, your dentist has the knowledge and skills to do that operation as painlessly as is humanly possible. When dentures are required to "fill the gap" your dentist knows exactly how to satisfy your need using modern acrylic plastics. The result will be the most natural looking false teeth ever produced. With your new dentures in your mouth you will understand clearly how your mouth has gone from near disaster to near perfection so you can again: smile, laugh, chew your food, and speak clearly.

A modern denture will have everything needed for your oral comfort while eating: stability, support and good retention. Because of these three benefits, your confidence in your denture will give you peace of mind as you meet people, smile, talk and chew your food.  In addition, the denture will be durable enough to last for years.

But, keep in mind that your new denture will eventually get loose due the natural shrinkage of your now toothless jaws and gums. When this happens you will find it necessary to stop that looseness by "filling the gaps" with your choice of (1) the addition of an expensive acrylic plastic liner bonded to the upper part of your denture by your dentist, or (2) you can a use a new patent pending denture liner that is: soft, flexible, washable, re-usable and removable: the new Weber Denture Liner. For more information you are cordially invited to go to the following website.

This is  Part 2 of  the "History of False Teeth and Dentures"  series.  A new Part 3 will be published in the near future.

Dr. Feldenkrais also had a black belt in Judo. He had met the founder of Judo Jigoro Kano and learnt from him. This knowledge of martial arts along with all the other disciplines gave him a unique perspective on the way that he moved and functioned. First and foremost Moshe was a scientist, he used his own body as a laboratory to test out all his theories. He explored many avenues and in time it led to the development of his method.

The Feldenkrais method is divided in table work called Functional Integration, this entails a Feldenkrais practitioner moving the body and limbs of a student lying on a low table in very precise, slow deliberate movements. I write student and not patient, because Moshe insisted that his method is not a therapy but a method to bring about learning.

It also has a group discipline that is called Awareness Through Movement, this is practiced in a hall with people lying comfortably on a mat following the verbal instructions of the practitioner. The whole method is held in these precise movements. Moshe called them lessons. Each lesson dealt with one area of our function and Moshe created more than one thousand lessons. These lessons based on human development. Moshe had observed baby infants from a few weeks old onwards and seen what stages they go through to be able to move, roll, orient themselves, crawl, sit and finally walk. He saw that these infants were always experimenting and always searching. The movements if the Awareness Through Movement lessons and like those initial baby explorations. They invite the student lying on his or her mat to explore and bring their attention to bear on how they execute the movement or lack of it.

Slowly with time, the students gains more possibilities of movements, as the nervous system is charting out lost territory on a map. As the map fills in slowly, the main roads, small by-roads and paths appear as well as the villages and towns and what was a big void on the map now is familiar territory. The Feldenkrais method gives us choice where we had non. We can after a few lessons do things, in two,three or four different ways and not one as before3,or 4 not one habitual way.

Anatomy of Legs

As the stomach and buttocks, legs are prone to hormonal changes. The thighs, knees and legs are one of the main locations of cellulite.

It is also the part of the body that feels and expresses the most circulatory problems. Heavy legs and water retention are the problems of many of us, with pain, but also unsightly swelling or varicose veins.

Home of many muscles from the top of the thigh to the feet, legs need physical activity. In the absence of it, its muscles relax and become rounded up.

To have beautiful legs, there is no secret: we must make them work and provide them all the necessary care for good circulation.

Physical Activities that Involve Legs

To tone and shape legs, it is essential to move as much as possible in your everyday life (walk, climb stairs ...) and practice 2 to 3 times per week some sporty activities:

- Walking: It forces the circulatory system operate at a high level. Walk as often as possible, at speed, at least 30 minutes a day. Consider golf and walking for leisure as well.
- Dance: Rock, salsa, tap dance, tango ... The dance is ideal for fine tapered legs: it gives them flexibility and maintenance solidifies ankles and refines the calves.
- Swimming: Swimming favors pumping in the legs by alternating muscle contraction-relaxation. In addition, the horizontal position, the freshness and pressure of water can drain edemas.
- Aqua gym: The pressure of the water and hydro massage contribute to the return of blood to the heart. Even standing ankles are well drained because water pressure is more important at greater depth.
- Cycling: It is well known: pedaling means beautiful legs! It also muscle the thighs.

Equipment

In order not to injure yourself you should be well equipped:

- Long distance shoes. They are paramount as they must ensure a good grip on the ground, protect against moisture, absorb shock and provide comfort.
- Protective and breathable clothing. The hiker can be affected by rain, heat, wind ... He or she should focus on materials that protect against weather and remove perspiration.
- A well adapted backpack. Its volume is related to the use you want, 30 to 40 liters for the day, 50 to 70 l for a few days. It is better to focus correctly the weight. You also need water bottle, compass, GPS, sunglasses, a walking stick ...

Inquire

There are different ways to trek: on your own, for a day or more. To find information on the circuit, it is ideal to obtain guides, to consult the specialty press, local publications (associations, town halls ...) or the Internet.

You can as well get information in a club. Besides, you have to know that in different countries there are many associations linked to hiking federations which regularly organize group hikes, via a specialized tour operator, in group with a guide.

The massage techniques used in this type of natural healing art are those that are received from a conventional Japanese Shiatsu. Most of these techniques are conducted as pressing methods that uses different parts of the massage therapist's body such as the fingers, thumbs, knees, feet, elbows, and palms. These hands and feet techniques are performed at a specific force to make sure that the client receives a soothing treatment yet something that is not too gentle in order to address painful conditions of the human body.

The diet used for this type of therapy is known as the Macrobiotic Diet which uses 50 percent grains, 25 percent vegetables, 10 percent protein, and 5 percent fruits, seeds, and nuts, 5 percent vegetables from the sea such as seaweeds, and 5 percent soup. The diet used for Macrobiotic Shiatsu therapy are prepared without using any preservatives, flavoring, and are all organic grown. The therapist also teaches the client the proper way of eating which should be done in a slow and relaxed approach.

Both the massage techniques and the dietary plans are safe for almost anyone who wishes to try the relaxing and healing therapy of Macrobiotic Shiatsu. Most of the feedbacks and reports from the clients with different levels of medical conditions express their joy and satisfaction from an effective and successful natural treatment. Aside from the relaxing and invigorating effects of the alternative medical care, health benefits such as the treatment of body pain, improvement of circulation and respiratory functions are some of the advantages you can gain from the therapy.

For a satisfying treatment, don't forget to make sure that you get the bodywork service from someone who has intensive training and proper education with the human anatomy and the meridian points of the body to prevent injuries in a massage therapy session. Another way to make sure that the treatment goes smoothly and successfully as planned is to follow the preparations given by the therapist. Water therapy as well as avoiding a heavy meal prior to the therapy session are a few of the preparations instructed in order to have a good therapy session. Water flushes out harmful toxins out of our system which is good as it helps in maintaining a healthy body inside out.

• Reference. Do not try to rely on your understanding or memory for creating the bones and muscles of thighs. Medical works by Da Vinci were precision sketches that must be replicated without any 'tweaking.' Obtain reference images from books, journals, or the internet.

• Style. Da Vinci executed his works in series, where views included details and completeness varied. The idea was to give as many details as possible. There are longitudinal sectional drawings, complete muscular topographies, standalone bones, skeleton, and so on. Choose beforehand, the type of work you wish to recreate.

• Bones. Drawing the thigh skeleton is among the simplest of all. Each human thigh has only one bone, Femur. It is the longest and most powerful of long bones in the body. The upper end consists of ball joint head on the inner side and the trochanters (greater and lesser) on the posterior side. The lower extremity of femur appears like two small, adjacent balls. Da Vinci's recreations of femur from different angles are particularly known for their accuracy.

• Muscles. Da Vinci noted that upon reaching knee, the thigh muscles take form of tendons and eventually that of cartilage, which is attached to the knee joint. Keeping this in mind, he made several comprehensive structures, demarcating each type of muscles distinctly. In such designs, the muscle mass immediately below skin and a part of femur are visible. The frontal, back, and side views are depicted through separate drawings. The anterior end of a thigh consists of Sartorius (the longest muscle in human beings) and quadriceps (vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, & rectus femoris). The middle muscles are gracilis and adductors. The posterior compartment is made up of biceps femoris (hamstrings muscle), semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. Da Vinci's works portrayed the anterior and posterior muscles in detail.

Once you are through with the sketching part, add some shading effects. Remember that these strokes are used to demarcate different muscles and not for adding any aesthetic value.

Moreover, I have met some skinny people who looked like they were 5-7 months pregnant, by sticking their stomach out, supposedly for the right breathing, they were simultaneously making their abdominal muscles weaker than they normally should be and thus acquired disproportionately looking big stomachs which made them look, minimum to say, pregnant. My term of comparison is that they looked like "pregnant ballerinas" to say the least.

Meanwhile, not on a music note (no pun intended), the whole fitness world is reciting about stronger and better looking abdominal muscles and definitely nice and flat tummies, which are very much in fashion at all times. Where, then, do the vocal coaches get an idea that they have to work against human anatomy and against any logic, drowning the voices down deep in the anatomy instead of helping their performers to release the pressure of the sound off of the anatomy and make it fly above and on top of the body, just like spirit (which in a matter of speaking, the voice is) will always fly away from the physical body and not along with it. Moreover, the voice is a unique instrument which every individual possesses. Once that voice is trapped inside of their anatomy, the whole so-called "performance" becomes very anatomic and not spiritual at all, not to mention that all human beings have the same anatomy, especially if they're the same gender, and the only difference then is the presence of gender specific organs. All the rest of the organs are absolutely the same for both genders. The voice flown off of the physical anatomy should be as unique as the finger prints of each and every individual. I know that any performers who I have produced over the years have had very unique tones and their voices could be recognized very easily, even if you don't know the song they might be singing.

"How would you achieve that?", you may ask. I have an answer for you, as I have found the mechanism which will allow your voice to work at its fullest capacity possible, yet with no pain or strain on your vocal anatomy. By utilizing this mechanism, you will be able to restructure your voice from the vocal box to the set of your facial muscles which will represent a natural resonator, or amplifier in this case, and then put those facial muscles to work in full conjunction and coordination with your abdominal muscles for the greater support of the sound and, thus, then minimize and practically eliminate the use of your throat, larynx and vocal cords.

However, if the voice was already damaged, to do just that might not be enough. Therefore, simultaneously with the proper instruction, I would administer natural herbs and remedies which will greatly aid to one's voice. Needless to say, those remedies will be obsolete unless the voice is released from the vocal box and the singer operates through the different channels and in the new found way.

This is also applicable for singers like Justin Bieber who, evidently, are going through puberty now and whose voices are drastically changing to become lower and manlier. In this instance, I could with absolute certainty say that using my revolutionary approach to voice mechanics, the puberty would not matter and male singers like Justin would be able to continue to enjoy their performances and go through puberty rather smoothly and without dramatic changes. In my opinion, Justin needs to learn the above addressed application of his voice and since his anatomy seems to be somewhat strained, which is natural for any singer when they're experiencing difficulties to push stronger, his vocal box has also to be carefully nurtured and thus simultaneously to be healed while he will be trying to reach the new heights.

Essentially, rigging consists of creating a "skeleton" and embedding it inside of the character model. Then, the "skin" (the already-created exterior design of the model) is attached to the support structure. By positioning this simplified skeleton, you can control the appearance and position of the surface-- the actual 3D model you are using. Think about how your skin and muscles adhere to your bones, relying on them for firm support while you are standing or walking. The character's limbs and so forth do the same thing with their rigging. Essentially, the series of linked "bones" gives the computer a reference point to determine how the input motion deforms the surface of the pre-made model. The structure also serves as a handle with which animation professionals can easily manipulate the 3d figure's pose and position.

Common rigging tools include CAT (Character Animation Tools) and Biped. Riggers sometimes use custom bones structures as well. After the character is rigged and its exterior skin mapped to the manipulatable skeleton, you have the option to either pose the model frame-by-frame or use a built-in action system to speed things up. If you don't know what you're doing, the rigged character will come out wrong and you won't be able to pose or animate it. Common problems are at the joints, where the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees don't look right. Experienced riggers spend a great deal of time studying the natural anatomy of humans, animals and other mobile organisms in order to reproduce them naturally in the world of the model. To get an attractive and fluid-looking motion, the structure and joints must come together in a cohesive and natural way. If the virtual bone is not embedded properly or given enough "weight," the behavior of the model that it is attached to will be unpredictable and amateurish-looking.

If you are a novice to 3d modeling, you can purchase the 3d character model and have it rigged by an experienced artist using a custom 3D service. After the model is rigged, the artist can also pose the model and render it for you so you get the images (renderings) you need. Although rigging is a very important part of the modeling process, it can be very time-consuming and laborious; thus, exerting the effort and time to do it yourself for a one-time job is inadvisable unless you are planning on utilizing the skills for further design tasks.