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(photo Source: pinimg) Writing | A Xian

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Now! Turn your head and see what is the limit of its twisting angle. (easy, slow down. The cervical vertebrae of beaters may not be able to withstand large rotation)

Most people reach the limit by turning 90 °to 105 °from the front to the left or to the left, but owls, because their heads are so flexible, can turn their heads 270 °! So the photographer captured the following scene.

It's a mistake! Again! | | Image source network |

The reason why owls have this ability is closely related to their long tubular binoculars. Because of their special shape, owls' eyes are fixed in a hardened ring (Sclerotic ring) and cannot rotate as widely as the spherical eyes of most mammals, so they must rotate their heads at a greater angle to observe the world.

If humans try to rotate the head at a large angle, it will most likely tear the cervical artery and break the cervical vertebra. As a result, people can not help but wonder, such a large rotation of the head of the owl will not break the neck? How should the great arteries of the neck take into account and continue to deliver oxygen-rich blood to the brain? In fact, owls are much more flexible than humans.

Bone rings are found in the eyes of many vertebrates except mammals and crocodiles, consisting of a single bone or a series of annular bones that can support the eyes. | researchers at Wiki Johns Hopkins University collected snowy owls, striped owls and bighorn owls who died of natural causes from nature, injected contrast media into birds' blood vessels, manually turned their heads, and used X-ray and CT scans to scan and image the bone structure and vascular system of the owl's head and neck to understand what makes their necks so special.

Researchers have discovered several unique structures. First of all, owls have 14 cervical vertebrae (only 7 in humans), and each additional bone makes the cervical vertebrae more flexible. Second, there is a pivot point where the owl's neck bone is connected to the skull, and the skull and muscles can rotate around it, similar to an office chair that can rotate at will, while humans have two pivot points that must work together. Is it more difficult for you to step on two office chairs left and right at the same time?

In addition, the owl's superior cervical vertebral artery passes through a much larger channel than that of other birds or humans, 10 times the width of its artery, ensuring that the artery does not wiggle too much when the neck is twisted.

The nodes of the arteries entering the owl's cervical vertebral canal are also higher than those of humans, allowing more blood vessels at the bottom to be relaxed without restraint. The width of the owl's cervical artery increases sharply near the top of the neck and the base of the skull, which is different from the rule that the human cervical artery usually gets smaller when it enters the brain, which ensures that when the owl twists its head and the blood vessels are squeezed, there is still a small amount of blood flowing into the brain.

Source reference [3] finally, they found a unique vascular connection between the two main carotid and vertebral arteries (there is no such connection in humans), which seems to allow blood to be exchanged between the two blood vessels. This allows more uninterrupted blood flow to the brain during extreme rotation of the neck.

Reference [3] the owl's unique physiological structure has created such a miracle. Throughout human history, there is really a person who has done this, his head can turn 180 °. Please do not imitate! Please don't imitate! Please don't imitate! )

His name was Martin Joe Laurello (Martin Joe Laurello), and many people used to call him "spinning head", "Owl Man" or "rotating head Boy Bobby". Laurello was born with a twisted spine and his head can be rotated 180 degrees. When he turned his head, his spine was in the shape of a question mark. Although he could not breathe normally, he could still drink water.

In the year of Wiki1921, Laurello suffered from a strange rare disease. It was the turn of the century, and there was no place where opportunities shone more than in the United States, where millions of people moved to the United States in search of a better life. The rise of circuses and juggling witnessed the moment, allowing jujitsu "freaks" like Laurello to make a living with amazing performances. He moved to the United States from Germany. After three years of practice, he began to perform in programs such as Ripley's Believe it or Not, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey.

In 1940, Laurello was able to earn $50 a week at the New York World's Fair and the Hubert Museum, enough to make him profligate like a rich man. Laurello was last seen on March 24, 1952 on You Asked For It and died of a heart attack at the age of 70.

Nothing. I just think owls are too cute. I want you to see them. 👀

Cover source: wikipedia

Reference:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sclerotic_ring

[2] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278283561_Adaptations_of_the_Owl's_Cervical_Cephalic_Arteries_in_Relation_to_Extreme_Neck_Rotation

[3] Krings M, Nyakatura JA, Fischer MS, Wagner H. The cervical spine of the American barn owl (Tyto furcata pratincola): I. Anatomy of the vertebrae and regionalization in their S-shaped arrangement. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 20ter9 (3): e91653. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091653. PMID: 24651767; PMCID: PMC3961260.

This article is from the official Wechat account: bring Science Home (ID:steamforkids), author: everything.

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