From acclaimed science writer, presenter, and illustrator Alice Roberts, a visual and linguistic adventure through the strange, astonishing worlds within our anatomy
Did you know you have cobwebs in your head, hair in your lungs, and snails in your ears? In the world of anatomy, every name paints a picture: from the
arachnoid mater
, a brain membrane resembling a spider’s web, to the
ciliated epithelium
of the respiratory tract (from the Latin for “eyelash”) and the curlicue
cochleas
(from the Greek for “snail”) that power our hearing. Quirky, bizarre, and beautiful,
Anatomical Oddities
traverses the body’s crypts, islets, and mountains to reveal a secret map of organ, tissue, and bone—complete with peculiar place names (
duodenum
, from the Greek for “twelve-fingers-long part of the gut”) and overlooked but essential regions (like the
orbicularis oculi
, the muscle that lets us blink). Featuring stunning original artwork by the author—acclaimed science writer and presenter Alice Roberts— these fifty-seven brief lessons in anatomy lay bare the intricate details of the human body, the history of those who unearthed its secrets, and the rich world of language that gives us form.