Exercises to increase the use of oxygen by the body are called aerobic exercises. The name is very apt because it means with oxygen. The exercises were developed by Dr Kenneth H. Cooper and Col Pauline Potts. Both were in the United States Air Force. Dr Cooper was an exercise expert and Col Pauline Potts was a physiotherapist. Cooper was passionate about his job and his research about the reasons for bad results in sporting activities by certain people despite their good muscular bodies led him to Aerobics. Dr Cooper started his research keeping a record of people exercising on a stationary bicycle attached to an ergometer. The ergometer measured the amount of work done by a person. He eventually discovered a relationship between the oxygen consumed by a sports person and his performance. Based on this study he published a book called Aerobics in 1968. The book appeared on the American scene at the right place at the right time. The lifestyle of America had deteriorated into lethargy.

AEROBICS FOR EVERYONE

Suddenly there was a craze for Aerobics. The 1980s were the peak years for Aerobics. People dressed in colorful tights took to the gyms with a vengeance. Aerobics involved exercises done to the rhythm of good music. Jane Fonda played a big part in making Aerobics popular and the Jane Fonda routine became famous. Aerobics involved non stop jumping and kicking and lifting the knees high. It involved punching the sky and a lot of twisting and turning of arms. People did it for hours and seven days a week. These were high impact exercises and were showing great results in losing weight and making people look fitter. Unfortunately the high impact was causing injuries to the knees and feet and back bone. The biggest sufferers were the trainers who did the exercises throughout the day everyday of the week. The oxygen was being burnt but so was the body.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

The established benefits of Aerobic exercises were muscle strengthening. The enlarging of heart muscles was also an advantage of these exercises. Blood pressure also reduced because of the better use of oxygen by the heart. Actually the Aerobics enthusiasts were only required to do sessions of exercise lasting twenty to twenty five minutes and that too for only three days of the week. But the enthusiasts were working out for hours for everyday of the week.

TREADMILLS AND STATIONARY BIKES

Aerobics introduced new exercise machines to the gym. These included the Treadmill, the Stationary bike, the elliptical trainer and the indoor rowing machine. Today these are an essential part of an exercise regime. Aerobics today are done along with weight training. This takes care of strengthening the upper body which was ignored earlier.

The people doing Aerobics at one time were twenty million. Today the number has come down below five million. People are now taking to Aerobics with a pinch of other exercises.

The ideal combination today is considered to be a judicious combination of Aerobics with weight training and stretching exercises. Days or rest are also recommended for the muscles to relax and then develop. Excess of anything is bad even Aerobics.

The very first sign of pregnancy is of course a strange kind of food craving. It is not a sure shot sign but taken with other tell tale signs it is a giveaway. Modern women crave for ice creams instead of pickles it seems.

FREQUENT URINATION

Darkening of areolas is a good indication of pregnancy. It  must be ascertained that it is not from an earlier pregnancy. The skin turns dark around the nipples. Another indication is a slight staining about eight days after ovulation. This is an indication of the egg finding a place in the endometrial lining. A slight spotting is also seen around the time of the expected period. Once the embryo has implanted itself the hormone changes in the body will cause frequent urination.

BAD TASTE

Tiredness is a big sign of early pregnancy. It occurs because of the presence of progesterone hormone.   Fatigue is very common in early pregnancy. Another sign is the tenderness of breasts just like near periods. This is because of the great hormonal rise in the body. The taste for certain well loved things will also change during early pregnancy. Tea and coffee might not taste so good and the mouth may have a strange metallic aftertaste all the time. The traditional sign of nausea will also appear a few weeks after conception. Morning sickness or nausea at other times in the day becomes a common thing.

PREGNANCY TEST

The time to take a pregnancy test is when the first period is missed. Most people are regular like clockwork so this change is very certain as a sign of pregnancy. This is the time to take a pregnancy test at home or at the clinic.

PAIN IN THE LOWER BACK

For some women an indication of early pregnancy is the emergence of a pain in the lower back. Many women feel hot and it is because of a natural rise in the body temperature. A woman might suddenly become pleasantly sensitive to certain aromas. On the other hand she might develop an aversion to smells she liked before getting pregnant. A frequent complaint from husbands is that wives become moody and given to unreasonable tantrums. This has become an accepted part of early pregnancy.

HEARTBURN

A very troubling side effect of pregnancy is heartburn. This can occur in the beginning and last till the fourth month. Luckily for most women these bad symptoms go away after the fourth month and instead a sense of euphoria comes upon the young mother.  Then there is the onslaught of constipation. This might be the case throughout the pregnancy for most women. It occurs because of hormonal changes and one of the ways to cope with it is to have lots of water. Also exercises recommended by the doctor can be tried to relieve constipation.

Dizziness can also appear in the life of a pregnant woman. There might even be spells of fainting. An additional indication of pregnancy is also the feeling of bloating. It is a wonder that women are so brave and opt for pregnancy despite all these negative first signs of pregnancy.

The term Zodiac comes from the Latin Zodiacus and from the Greek Zodiakos meaning circle of animals. This is so because half of the signs of the zodiac are named after animals. These signs and classifications are from old Babylonian times, a thousand years before the birth of Christ. They are so old that they are even mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the books of Ezekiel and Revelation four signs of the Zodiac are mentioned and they are Taurus, the Bull, the Lion as Leo and the man as Aquarius and then the Eagle. Some even say that the Zodiac represents the twelve tribes of Israel.

BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE

The Babylonian Zodiac travelled to Greece in the fourth century BC. The Greeks thought that the Chaldeans were masters of divination of the stars and predicting the future. Greek or Hellenistic astrology thus developed through the Chaldean influence and the Egyptian influence because of Greek rule there. Astrology in Greece was influenced a lot by the works of Ptolemy a Greek astronomer and astrologer. He was a great influence on the future Zodiac signs. The signs and the planets affecting various astrological houses were decided and set by Ptolemy and they exist to this day in almost the same form.

TWELVE NAMES OF THE ZODIAC

The Greek influence also merged with the Indian astrological system during the Seleucid period of Indo Greek history. The signs in the two astrological systems are named in different languages, that is, Sanskrit and Greek but they are the same in identity with similar animals and things. Sagittarius is equal to Dhanu the archer. Kumbha a water pitcher corresponds to Aquarius who is a water carrier. It is deduced that the Indian system was influenced by the Greek system and not the other way round. The twelve names of the Zodiac are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

READING THE SIGNS

Aries is the first sign in the zodiac named after the constellation of the same name. It is represented by the Ram and the planet which governs it is Mars. Taurus is the second sign of the Zodiac and is represented by the Bull and the planet which rules over it is Venus.  Gemini is the third astrological sign of the Zodiac and is represented by the constellation of Gemini and the twins. It is governed by the planet Mercury. The fourth sign is that of Cancer. It is represented by the crab and the governing planet is the moon. The fifth sign is that of Leo. It is represented by a Lion and the planet which rules over it is the Sun. The sixth sign is that of Virgo. It is represented by the Virgin or maiden and the planet ruling over it is Mercury although modern astrologers say Ceres rules over this Zodiac sign. The seventh sign is that of Libra and is represented by a pair of scales. The planet ruling over it is Venus. The eighth sign is that of Scorpio and it is represented by a Scorpion and its ruling planet is Mars. The ninth planet is Sagittarius and it is represented by a combination of an archer and a centaur.  It is ruled by the planet Jupiter. The tenth sign of the Zodiac is Capricorn and it is represented by the sign of the goat or the sea goat. It is ruled by the planet Saturn. The eleventh sign is that of Aquarius and is represented by the water carrier and its ruling planet is Saturn. The twelfth sign is that of Pisces it is represented by a fish and the ruling planet was Jupiter but since its discovery, Neptune is considered as its ruling planet. The reading of all these signs depends upon a good astrologer.

Satellites are man made machines launched with the help of rockets into an orbit around the Earth. There are various kinds of artificial satellites in space and they have multifarious functions. Thousands of satellites circle the globe sending and receiving all kinds of data. These are called artificial satellites to distinguish from other satellites like the Moon circling around Earth.

SPACE WAR

Satellites were the subject of fiction only sixty five years ago. In these years since World War II technology has advanced so rapidly that now we have giant space stations circling the Earth. These space stations are also satellites and they are orbiting centers of research for human beings. It is a great leap since the first launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union in October 1957. That started a space race between the two giant nations of this planet at that time, the United States of America and the USSR.

THE HIGH AND LOW OF ORBITS

Three months later on January 31, 1958 the USA was able to launch its first satellite Explorer 1. By June 1961 there were 115 orbiting artificial satellites around the globe. The National Space Science Data Center of the USA has recorded 6578 satellites launched into orbit around the Earth since 1957. A whole new science has appeared on the horizon with the coming of satellites. New terminology has come into existence. For example there are now three kinds of orbits for satellites and these are LEO Low Earth Orbit, MEO Medium Earth Orbit and HEO High Earth Orbit. All the major powers of Earth have launched satellites into orbit independently. These countries include the USA, former USSR, China, India, France, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Israel and Iran.

GREAT STORY IDEA

An idea in a story written by Arthur C Clarke led to the development of geosynchronous satellites for uninterrupted communications. There are a plethora of satellites doing numerous jobs for the military, for the weather bureaus and various research organisations. Modern television with it’s on the spot reporting is a creation of these satellites. One can broadcast and receive television and radio signals from any remote corner of the Earth.

FAR SIGHTED HUBBLE

A great example of satellite technology is the Hubble Space Telescope. It has opened new frontiers in astronomy and deep space photography. It is constantly scouring deep space and receiving photographic images from objects light years away. Without the distorting influence of the Earth’s atmosphere the Hubble telescope is able to take great pictures. It also exhibits the progress of space travel that many servicing missions have been undertaken by astronauts to keep it working efficiently. Hubble is supposed to work till 2014 when it will be replaced by JWST (James Webb Space Telescope.)

GUARDIAN ANGELS IN THE SKY

Man has sent these silent guardians into the sky and they are keeping a careful watch on the activities of nature and human on Earth. There are spy satellites keeping an eye on each move that we make. These satellites can read even the newspaper held in your hand when you walk the streets of some strange country. They are like metallic angels guarding the Earth.

RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication. RSS feeds are a web format to make it easy for internet users to upload their frequently updated works in standardized XML text format. The square orange icon with three white air waves on it is a very familiar sight on web sites. The RSS feed automatically upgrades new additions on a person’s favorite web pages. The reader gets the benefit of the updates while the web site gets constant hits on its site. The feeds can consist of complete text or summaries and metadata files which are basically a tag about the content and size of a file for example the name of the author and the number of words in the file.

AGGREGATOR

These RSS feeds do away with the necessity of constantly checking on various websites for the latest uploads. This information is done automatically for the RSS subscriber and he can read the data through a Reader or Aggregator software on the computer. RSS feeds have been there since 1999 but they have become truly popular between 2005 and 2006 when Internet Explorer acquired the orange symbol previously the property of Firefox and incorporated it into its browser.

EMAIL MARKETING

RSS is a great tool for email marketing companies. They can avoid Spam filters this way and ride unrestricted on the back of these feed portals. Blog sites also use this service. For a personal computer user the advantage is of time saving. Constantly fed headlines keep the subscriber aware of the latest updates in his subject of interest. RSS feeds can be seen as headlines only or as headlines with excerpts and finally as the full report on a particular subject.

JOB SEARCH SITES

An excellent example of an RSS feed is job search web site. Once you open the web site and fill in your personal data and job requirements the web site computers will produce a list of job metadata files. These metadata files give you a hint at what lies inside the file if you click on it. So you click only on the jobs you think are relevant to your personal choice. This web site since you have subscribed to it through RSS will constantly upgrade jobs relevant to your search and send you reminders either through emails or small pops that appear on your web browser. This is just one of the applications of an RSS feed.

Other good examples of such web feeds are celebrity sites where you can keep a track of your favorite singer or actor. Or the RSS feed can be a search for a life partner or a blind date for the weekend. RSS feeds have opened up new vistas of internet usage.

RSS is available as RSS 1 and RSS 2. Another format version is Atom. RSS 1 is the short form for RDF Site Summary. RSS 2 two stands for Really Simple Syndication as we know already. ATOM is the other option available and is similar to both versions of RSS 1 &2. It is also an XML based format. Whatever version you select it is clear that RSS feeds are here to stay on your computer.

Quangos are a British creation and it is an acronym for Quasi Non Governmental Organisation. They were introduced as independent bodies to undertake specified duties but were funded by the government. As the years have passed the Quangos have proliferated and doubts have been raised in the United Kingdom as to their uses, efficiency and cost. Private watch groups claim that these Quangos are wasting public funds to the tune of 90 billion pounds per annum. The mystery for everyone is who creates a Quango and how do they grow so abundant?

STRANGE PAID LEAVE

Questions have been asked in the British Parliament as to the reasons for allocating funds to these organisations which apparently do nothing but waste public money. These are not elected bodies and they seem to have taken over the functions of many local bodies. An independent survey by the Taxpayers’ Alliance alleges that the Quangos and their expenses have doubled in the last ten years. As a Lord pointed out in his speech in the House of Lords, the odd expenses of Quangos include “228,000 pounds for a retiring international director preceded by (a peculiar provision) eight months’ gardening leave.” He also pointed out that the “part-time chairman of the Horserace Totalisator Board receives 92000 pounds a year.”

BONFIRE OF QUANGOS

The promised ‘Bonfire of Quangos’ is nowhere in sight and indeed they seem to be secretly growing perniciously eating up public funds. It is a typical ‘Yes Minister’ scenario. The bureaucracy and ministers using their old boy connections create entities and then wash their hands off any wrong doing. Of course all Quangos cannot be painted with the same brush and the Museums and Galleries Commission is a positive example of a Quango which only uses private sponsorships to defray most of its expenses.

PARTYING QUANGOS

The search is on for Quangos and although sixty were shown the door there are still more than a thousand gobbling up public funds. The good ones identified by some are for example HM Courts Service and the Office of National Statistics. On the haymaking list are numerous weirdly named and unbridled Quangos which spend money on partying in good hotels in London. An example is Audit Scotland which is supposed to be keeping an eye on people misusing taxpayers’ money; instead it chose to have a grand party and spent almost 25000 pounds on it.

The reasons behind setting up Quangos were three-fold. Firstly to actually do something and an example is the Environment Agency which has executive power to take positive action and has done so. Secondly are the Quangos set up to give expert advice to ministers and an example is the Boundary Commission. Thirdly they are appointed as watchdogs to look at prisons.

OLDEST QUANGO

Quangos have become a favorite punching bag of both the Labor and Conservative parties. They are also used as scapegoats by both the parties if things go wrong.  Quangos have been there for centuries and the first was Trinity House in 1514 and it was a lighthouse service. The strange functions of many new Quangos like the Wales Centre of Excellence for Anaerobic Digestion really makes one believe in the demand for scrapping of all the Quangos.

Prime numbers in simple terms are numbers which can only be divided by themselves and the number one. For a long time number one was considered a prime number. Even till as late as 1956 a reprinted list of prime numbers called Derrick Norman Lehmer’s list till 10,006,721 contained one as a prime number. After that it fell out of favor because mathematicians argued that one did not qualify according to certain terms as a prime number. Henri Lebesgue has the dubious distinction of being the last professional mathematician to have called one a prime number. There is the technical problem that 1 lacks some properties of prime numbers amongst which is its relationship to Euler’s Totient Function or in other terms the function of sum of divisors.

ENTER EUCLID

So it was that one went off the list of prime numbers. A list of the prime numbers till one hundred today would be as follows:-

2,3,5,7,11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31,37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71,73, 79, 83, 89 and 97.

None of these can be divided by any number but itself and one. This is the primary qualification of a prime number. There are an infinite number of prime numbers and this was demonstrated by Euclid ages ago around 300 BC.

THE LARGEST PRIME NUMBER

The largest known prime number has been figured out in the year 2011 and it has thirteen million decimal digits. If it were to be written down by hand it would take days. The numbers which are not prime are called composite numbers. Thus four is a composite number and six is a composite number and so on. No even number bigger than two can be prime.

The ancient Egyptians seemed to have some knowledge of prime numbers as evidenced by the Rhind papyrus. The real ancient records of knowledge of prime numbers come from the Greeks with Euclid in 300 BC. The Sieve of Eratosthenes in third century Greece was another method used to find prime numbers.

PRIME NUMBERS THROUGH HISTORY

Historically the next big thing in prime numbers happened in the seventeenth century in 1640 with Pierre de Fermat’s little theorem regarding prime numbers which was proven later by Euler and Leibniz. The French monk Marin Mersenne had a look at prime numbers with his formula 2 to the power of p minus one where p was a prime number. These numbers in his honor are called Mersenne numbers. The nineteenth century had many prominent mathematicians working on the prime number theorem and prominent among them were, Legendre and Gauss; Riemann, Hadamard and de la Vallee Poussin. Also remarkable is Pepin’s test for Fermat numbers in 1877. There are other prominent tests for primary numbers which include Proth’s theorem and the Lucas-Lehmer primality test.

PRACTICAL USE FINALLY

Work in prime numbers for a long time was considered academic and pure mathematics only but in 1970 a practical use was found in public domain cryptography as the RSA cryptosystem algorithm. All the largest known prime numbers have been generated by computers and today these super computers are being used to chart new territories in the world of prime numbers.

Oily fish are those which have high oil content. Processed oily fish fillets may have an oil content of almost thirty percent. Most of the oil lies in the fish-belly and the tissues. Oily fish can be both pelagic and forage fish.  Forage fish include herring, anchovy and sardines. Pelagic fish include the fishing favourites of trout, salmon, mackerel and hilsa.

PELAGIC FISH

Oily fish are a great contrast to whitefish which only have oil in their liver and live at the bottom portion of the ocean. Pelagic fish containing oil live higher up in a layer of water closer to the surface. Good examples of whitefish are haddock and cod. Oily fish have a higher content of Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin D and A. Research has shown that oily fish is beneficial for people recovering from heart attacks and also as a good precaution against cardio vascular diseases. The Eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA found in fish oil convert to resolvins within the body and help reduce inflammation dramatically.

RICH IN OMEGA 3

Other benefits of eating oily fish are that the Omega 3 fatty acids content is good for people who are suffering from depression. Reportedly it also helps in relieving arthritic conditions. Two portions of oily fish per week also prevent the degeneration of the eye muscles in the elderly. On the other hand oily fish have higher levels of contaminants than white fish. A limit has been set upon the maximum intake of fatty fish and it is four portions a week. A portion is equal to 140 grams. The four portion limit is for men, boys and women beyond the child bearing age. For pregnant and childbearing women and girls the limit is two portions. In contrast there is no limit set in portions for white fish.

MORE CALORIES MORE GOOD FAT

Oily fish have more calories because of the oil present in tissues and because of this oil the fish also looks a little darker than normal whitefish. Oily fish are also more fattening but this fat is polyunsaturated fat which is good for the body. Oily fish are a wonderful source of proteins. Oily fish are also a good source for Omega 6. Omega 3 and Omega 6 are fatty acids which cannot be produced by the body and therefore have to be taken in our food. There are numerous advantages of these Omega 3 fatty acids present in oily fish. They help to break down the bad cholesterol LDL in the blood. They reduce blood pressure. They prevent blood clotting and thus strokes and cardiac arrests. Omega 3 is also good for the brain and the eyes. It increases the good HDL cholesterol in the blood.  Oily fish with their Omega 3 if taken in regular controlled portions also prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

PACKET OF GOOD HEALTH

Swordfish, sprat, carp, bluefish, whitebait, eel and kipper are some more fish rich in oils. Oily fish are rich in minerals and vitamins and the fat soluble vitamins are A, D, K and E. Vitamin E has been identified as an anti-ageing vitamin. Important minerals that are found in oily fish are Iodine, phosphorus, calcium, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Oily fish are thus a wonderful natural packet of benefits and if used judiciously can improve health.

A night terror is a disturbing spell of unconscious screaming and shouting in fear while asleep. It happens mostly to children while their Central Nervous System is maturing. A night terror looks like a nightmare but with the difference that the child sits up and screams with open eyes and is inconsolable. Then he goes back to sleep but does not have any recall of the dream in the morning. Night terrors occur during the first two to three hours of sleep. During a night terror the heart beat and breathing increases rapidly. The child might sweat a lot and be very agitated but after some minutes the child goes back to undisturbed sleep. Nightmares unlike night terrors occur during the early hours of the morning and can be recalled by the child on waking up.

NOT A MEDICAL PROBLEM

Experts divide a night’s sleep into several stages and these are split into a Rapid Eye Movement stage and a Non Rapid Eye Movement stage. Night terrors occur during the latter, the non REM stage.  Night terrors can be frightening to look at for parents but they really do not have any basis in a medical problem.

INHERITED

Night terrors might be an inherited tendency in about eighty per cent of cases. The basic cause is over stimulus to a Central Nervous System which has not matured yet in a child. The Central Nervous System controls our sleeping and waking brain functions. There are three main causes of night terrors in children and the first is Illness or Fatigue. The second reason can be linked to some new medicine taken by the child and the third reason can be as simple as sleeping in a new place. Night terrors only occur in about six percent of children and during the pre-teen years. Night terrors are more common in boys than girls.

PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING

It is best for parents to be understanding during these night terrors and not to panic. The only way parents can help is by making sure the child does not get hurt during this episode. It is of no use trying to console the child. Indeed attempts should not be made to wake up the child. The only way parents can help is by preventing a child in future from getting overtired. They should stick to a daily time of sleeping and provide a secure ambience at home for the child.

PAVOR NOCTURNUS

Night terror is also known as Pavor Nocturnus and occurs during a slow-wave sleep pattern. The main characteristics are sitting bolt upright; wide open eyes; screaming, moaning and a situation of being inconsolable The person cannot be woken up even by trying and it is also not recommended for then going back to sleep will be even more difficult. All this is also followed by amnesia of the episode. The sufferer does not remember anything in the morning. It occurs in adults rarely. In adults it is linked to stress and lack of sleep and a proper diet. In adults the night terror can be cured with medicine. In children the night terrors might last a few weeks but then disappear forever in a stable environment.

The only consolation in these disturbing night terrors is that in children they disappear completely with time as the Central Nervous System matures.

Muscles are tissues in our body containing fibers which give motion and power to us by contracting and then relaxing. We have six hundred and forty muscles in our body or rather three hundred and twenty pairs of muscles. Actually the muscles are classified by different experts and the count can vary from six hundred to eight hundred or even more depending on who is counting. These muscles do various jobs including helping us lift heavy things.

THREE TYPES OF MUSCLES

There are three types of muscles in the human body and these are smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and skeletal muscles. Smooth muscles are the involuntary muscles which keep working without any conscious commands from us. These muscles are found in the digestive system; the urinary bladder; a woman’s uterus and in the eyes helping us focus. They are also found in the respiratory system.

The Cardiac muscle is found only in the heart and it is an involuntary muscle like the smooth muscle. It keeps working tirelessly in the body without any conscious command. The cardiac muscles contract to pump blood out into the body and then relax to allow the return of the blood after it has completed its circulation through the body. The heart muscle with the help of the lungs oxygenates the blood and recharges it with nutrients for the body. The myocardium is thus a tireless muscle inside our body.

SKELETAL MUSCLES

The third kind is the skeletal muscles. These are also called the striated muscle because of the dark and light stripes of fiber which make up these muscles. These are voluntary muscles unlike the other two types. These muscles only operate at our conscious commands. These muscles in combination with our bones make up our musculoskeletal system. The skeletal muscles are like sheaths attached to the bones and help movement by contracting and relaxing. The skeletal muscles together with tendons make the joints and bones move. The biggest skeletal muscles are in the back and help the body to stand erect. Pushing, pulling and lifting are all done with the help of skeletal muscles. Muscles are spread all over the body; in our neck and even our face. Our face has so many muscles under the skin which help us make all the facial expressions, including smiles, grimaces and frowns. An important muscle of our body is our tongue and unlike all the other muscles it is attached to our body only at one end. The tongue is a group of muscles which helps us swallow and talk.

DELTOIDS AND ABS

A muscle which is much appreciated by sports persons is the deltoid muscle. It is in each of our shoulders and helps us play with a bat in games like baseball. Other prominent muscles in a virtually endless list are the pectoralis muscles at the side of the upper chest. If we go lower near the rib cage we have the rectal abdominus which body builders love to develop and call abs in short. There are the biceps, triceps and the quadriceps. The biggest muscle is the one that we use when we are sitting down and getting up, the gluteus maximus. The smallest skeletal muscle is the Stapedius in our ear a little more than a millimeter in length and its job is to stabilize the tiniest bone in the body which is the stapes and it helps us in our hearing.

A MILLION MUSCLES

As said earlier the experts differ on the number of muscles in the human body and if we counted the arrector pili muscle below the hair on our body and head the count of muscles would go to millions. Thus we see that muscles are an integral part of our amazing body.