1 Nov
by Bill Dyche
The most feared of all the Roman emperors? Not really! The gluteus maximus (Latin- largest of the buttock) is the muscle mass making up most of the buttocks. Contrary to popular opinion, we do not sit on these muscles, because they move aside laterally as we sit. Actually, we sit on our pelvic bones protected with overlying fat, connective tissue and a cushioning bursa.
3 Oct
by Barb Boose
Want to learn how the cardiovascular system works during exercise and how it responds to exercise training? Want to explore the unique “features” that allow elite athletes to attain world-class performance? Then mark your calendar for tomorrow night’s Cafe Scientifique at the Science Center of Iowa: Julia Moffitt, Ph.D., associate professor in DMU’s department of physiology and pharmacology,will explain the basic cardiovascular physiology and help attendees gain an understanding of how the cardiovascular system works during exercise and peak performance. She also will perform a live demo of an electrocardiogram with a trained endurance athlete.
1 Oct
by Bill Dyche
“Twelve each” in Latin. The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine attached to the outlet of the stomach, the pylorus. Early anatomists measured it as approximately twelve fingers’ breadths long. Duodecim is the number 12 in Latin. Take the Latin number, pass it through old French dozaine into modern English, and you have “dozen”!
1 Sep
by Bill Dyche
The atlas is the first, or top, vertebra of our bony spinal column supporting the “globe” of the head. In Greek mythology, Atlas was one of the early gods, called the Titans. Atlas warred against Zeus, King of the Olympian gods, and lost. For his punishment, Atlas was condemned to bear the weight of the world and heavens upon his shoulders for eternity.
Book collections of maps frequently used the icon of Atlas bearing a globe upon his shoulders. Over time, atlas came to refer to the book itself. Eventually, atlas has come to refer to any collection of plates or figures devoted to a single topic such as a street atlas or an atlas of human anatomy.
6 Aug
Today marks A.T. Still’s 182nd birthday. He is known as the father of osteopathic medicine. Osteopathy is a whole body approach to health that recognizes the integral role in wellbeing played by the musculoskeletal system. We are very proud to be the second oldest osteopathic medical schools in the United States. Learn more about what osteopathic medicine is.
Having the D.O. program at DMU also impacts all our other programs in approach, overlap and understanding and that gives our grads an edge. Wouldn’t you want to know your health care practitioner understood other disciplines and had a whole body outlook on your health?
1 Aug
by Bill Dyche
The coronary arteries encircle the heart “like a crown” which is its literal meaning in Latin. The coronaries supply blood to the heart muscle itself. Blockage of a branch of a coronary artery causes a “heart attack” in layman’s language. The same root meaning is found in coronation and coroner. The latter word originally referred to an official appointed by the crown, the royal government, to investigate deaths of unknown or suspicious circumstances. Modern coroners are typically physicians called medical examiners. As they say in the TV police dramas upon discovery of a dead body, “Better call the M.E. on this one”.
Des Moines University has nine different health-related grad programs. Founded in 1898 it is the second oldest osteopathic school and is the largest med. school in Iowa. DMU also offers podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, anatomy, biomedical sciences, health care administration and public health programs.
With a 22-acre campus in Des Moines plus programs that can be taken online, the whole world is our neighborhood. Won't you be our neighbor?
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