Square Pegs and Round Holes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bones

The hyoid bone is also referred to as the lingual bone or the tongue bone. It is situated in the neck and lies between the base of the jaw and the 3rd cervical vertebra. It has the distinction of being the only bone in the human body that isn't attached to another bone. Its function is to aid in swallowing and other movements of the tongue and is attached to the muscles on the floor of the mouth and the tongue, epiglottis and pharynx.

The name 'hyoid' comes from the Greek 'hyoeides' referencing the shape of the bone, a roundish body and two 'horns' making a shape of a 'u' or 'upsilon'.

Red Crew's smpdit has watched too many episodes of CSI where they deduce strangulation by the hyoid bone being broken.

Answer: Glands

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland wrapped around the trachea in the neck. It produces three hormones. T3 and T4 (the difference is the number of iodine molecules in salt) are hormones that increase the metabolic rate which means all cells in the body work harder, meaning the cells need more energy. This causes body temperature increases, faster pulse and heartbeat, increased food catabolism, faster reflexes and concentration and, in children, growth.

The thyroid gland produces more of these hormones when stimulated by hormones from the pituitary gland. The third hormone produced by the thyroid is calcitonin which is involved in calcium and bone metabolism.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 whose pulse was racing by writing this question.

Answer: Nerves

Of the twelve cranial nerves, the trigeminal nerve is number five and the largest of the twelve. There are two trigeminal nerves that originate from the brain stem and go to each side of the face. Tri, meaning three, tells us the trigeminal nerve has three branches. The broad duties of those branches are facial sensation and chewing.

Each branch is for different areas on each side of the face. The ophthalmic and maxillary branches are the sensory portions. The mandibular branch is both a motor and sensory nerve. The motor portion innervates the muscles for chewing. The sensory portion works to round out our taste sense, not directly with sweet, sour or bitter but more as in temperature, pressure, touch, and pain.

Phoenix Rising's jaknginger made sure her trigeminal nerves were in tip-top shape as she ate pizza while writing the question for the Red Crew's quiz.

Answer: Bones

The lunate bone is one of the carpals that comprise the wrist architecture. It abuts the radius and also articulates with several other of the carpals. Interestingly, there is substantial variation among people and in about 20% of the population the lunate does not articulate with the hamate bone whereas it does in the other 80%.

It is the fourth most commonly injured of the eight carpal bones, usually due to hyperextension of the wrist with high energy impact. Such injuries may result in permanent disability due to accompanying nerve damage.

This question was sutured into the quiz by Red Crew's pusdoc, who has broken phalanges but no carpals.

Answer: Nerves

The longest, thickest nerve in the human body, the sciatic nerve starts at the lower lumbar spine, passes through the pelvis, into your posterior to travel down the back of the thighs all the way to the sole of the foot. The nerve has both motor and sensory functions. The motor portion allows the leg and foot to move, while the sensory portion gives sensation in portions of the leg. While the nerve travels into your butt, it does not provide innervation to those muscles.

Common causes of sciatic nerve pain, or sciatica, are compression from herniated discs, spinal stenosis, trauma and pregnancy. Physical therapy, ice and/or heat, rest, anti-inflammatory medications, and gentle stretching may help to alleviate sciatic nerve pain.

Sometimes jaknginger feels like she has one nerve left and the world is sitting on it.

Answer: Glands

The parotid, or more correctly the parotid glands, are one pair of three salivary glands in the human mouth. Parotid is Greek for 'beside the ear". The parotids are the largest of the three salivary glands. They are connected to the mouth through a long duct that enters the mouth near the second upper molar. The main secretion (the salivary glands produce 1200-1500mL saliva per day), is a protein called amylase which metabolises polysaccharide starch molecules into glucose and maltose. This occurs in the mouth and is considered the first part of the digestion process.

Diseases of the parotid glands include sialolithiasis (a salivary calculus) which is more at risk in this type of salivary glands because of the long duct; while mumps is a viral inflammation of the parotid glands. Dry mouth is due to decreased saliva production which can be caused by several factors.

This question slid into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: Bones

Taking its name from its roughly cubic shape, the cuboid bone is a lateral tarsus bone of the foot. Its shape allows it to stabilise and support the lateral column of the foot. Along with the navicular and three cuneiform bones, the five bones of the midfoot form the shock-absorbing arch of the foot. The shape of the tarsi and their special joint connections to each other allow the complex rotational movements of the ankle. Several different ligaments help stabilise the bone in its correct alignment.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 once sprained her ankle and knocked her cuboid loose, and found it was much more fun rolling dice than bones.

Answer: Nerves

The hypoglossal nerve is the 12th cranial nerve and enervates most of the muscles of the tongue.
In doing so, it allows the movements necessary for speech and swallowing. The nerve begins just in front of the medulla part of the brainstem, then travels through the brain to the point of the mandible where it moves forward along the underside of the tongue (from whence it gets its name) and finally over the top of the tongue.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 licked this question into shape.

Answer: Glands

The size of a pea, the pituitary gland has big job that belies its size. Often referred to as ' the master gland' it affects the function of several other glands such as the thyroid, the adrenals and the ovaries and testes. It is tucked away in a hollow behind the bridge of the nose attached to the base of the brain.

The pituitary is itself governed by the hypothalamus. Hormones are sent from the hypothalamus to the pituitary with the intent of controlling the body's temperature, food requirements, thirst, sleep, emotions, and memory function. If the pituitary is damaged or does not work effectively it can cause conditions such as acromegaly, Cushing's syndrome, and diabetes insipidus.

Red Crew's smpdit thinks important things can come in small packages.

Answer: Bones

Three ossicles (bones) are found in the middle ear and are responsible for conducting sound. The malleus (hammer) is connected to the tympanic membrane on one end and the incus (anvil), on the other. The incus, in turn, is connected to the stapes (stirrup), which is connected to a membrane called the oval window by a ligament. Sound energy is conveyed through the oval window into the inner ear. This transmission leads to ten-fold amplification of the sound vibrations.

A condition called otosclerosis may lead to adherence of the stapes to the oval window and disruption of its ability to conduct sound.

Player pusdoc of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew hopes you find this question sound.

Answer: Nerves

The trochlear nerve is the fourth cranial nerve. The word "trochlea" is from the Greek for "pulley" - the nerve supplies the superior oblique muscle, which passes through a pulley-like cartilaginous structure called the trochlea. The muscle attaches atop the eyeball in such a way as to pull the eye downward and toward the nose.

The trochlear nerve is unique amongst cranial nerves as it travels the longest intracranial distance yet contains the smallest number of axons. It also arises from the opposite (dorsal) side of the brainstem from the others.

Red Crew's player pusdoc cannot help but recite a mnemonic for the cranial nerves, T is for "touch" and "trochlear." You can imagine the rest is a little smutty.

Answer: Nerves

Also known as the eleventh cranial nerve or CN XI, the accessory nerve is a motor nerve that controls the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles, both of them essential for neck and shoulder movement. The nerve begins in the medulla oblongata (the lower part of the brain stem); it enters the skull through the foramen magnum (the large opening in the occipital bone of the skull, and exits it through the jugular foramen. The nerve then travels downwards, piercing through the sternocleidomastoid muscle (which flexes the neck and rotates the head from side to side) until it reaches the trapezius muscle (which moves the scapula and supports the arm).

The accessory nerve is the only cranial nerve that enters and exits the skull. It is so named because of its close association with the larger vagus nerve, which also originates in the medulla oblongata. Neck surgery often causes damage to the accessory nerve, resulting in neck pain and a weakened trapezius muscle.

LadyNym of the PR Red Crew wrote this question while shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders.

Answer: Glands

The pineal gland is a small pine-cone shaped gland situated deep inside the brain. It is an endocrine gland that produces melatonin, the hormone that regulates our circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. Melatonin levels are elevated in children, but once puberty begins, the levels reduce.

Red Crew member leith90 wonders at her own levels of melatonin, since sleeping is one of her hobbies .

Answer: Bones

The zygomatic bones are a matched pair of bones on either side of the face that form the cheekbone. The zygoma is an irregular, diamond-shaped bone that connects to the maxilla (upper jaw), forms part of the floor and side of the orbit (eye socket) and then connects to three of the cranial bones - the temporal, frontal and sphenoid. High and noticeable cheekbones, thought of as attractive in many cultures, are the result of a prominent zygomatic arch.

Facial trauma from accidents or violence can result in a zygomatic fracture.

Red Crew's leith90 tried to think of a 'tongue-in-cheek' attribution for this question, but couldn't.

Answer: Glands

As its name implies ("cortex" meaning "bark" in Latin), the adrenal cortex is the outer (and largest) part of an adrenal gland - the latter being the endocrine glands located above the kidneys. Each of the cortex's distinct layers is responsible for the production of specific hormones.

The zona glomerulosa - the most superficial of the layers, characterized by ovoid cells arranged in clusters - produces aldosterone, a hormone that regulates the body's concentration of sodium and potassium. The zona fasciculata - the widest of the three zones, with cells arranged in bundles - produces cortisol, the hormone that regulates the metabolism of glucose. The zona reticularis - the innermost layer, whose cells are arranged in a net-like pattern - produces androgen hormones, which regulate the development of male characteristics in vertebrates.

All these hormones are known as corticosteroids, as they are produced in the adrenal cortex.

This question was written by Lady Nym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew, in awe before the complex workings of the human body.