REFLECTIONS FROM THE LAB:SUBCUTANEOUS CONNECTIVE TISSUE“Aka Superficial Fascia. Aka Adipose. Aka Fat. Aka ‘Cushion For The Pushin’’. This beautiful Golden Fleece is kindly wrapped around each one of us -- to a greater or lesser degree -- and varies in thickness based on its location. Although this tissue is often maligned and insulted it serves MANY valuable functions. Our fatty layer is #highly #structured and innervated by many #nerves and #vessels. Our work on this tissue in the lab was to manually remove the lipids from its intricate fascial web. The results produced a cloud-like billowy layer of shockingly-strong connective tissue which, even after losing its density, maintained its depth. “The superficial fascia is full of interoceptors, full of lymph, ... full of of value and is a deep part of our full, human experience. We are eager to plastinate this layer and include it in the current fascia-categorization conversation. We hope our efforts will also begin to bring more #compassion in the greater view of it as we expose the #beauty, #strength, and#value of this remarkable tissue.” — FAUNA MOOREPhoto Credit: ©FasciaResearchSociety.org/plastination #fasciaresearchsociety#fasciaresearchcongress #fasciaplastination #fascia#plastinarium #guben #germany

✍️NOTES FROM THE LAB:THORACOLUMBAR FASCIAThis image shows the multi-directional nature of the#thoracolumbar #fascia. In this #dissection we included the #latissimus #dorsi and #gluteus#maximus muscles to show how each of these merges into the thoracolumbar fascia, creating a key relationship between the #upper and #lower#extremities. By preserving both latissimus muscles we can see the relationship on the same side of the body with the #gluteus (lower left), across the sacrum and iliac crest, as well as the relationship across to the other side of the body. In Tom Myers#AnatomyTrains, this diagonal connecting of the glutes on one side to the lats on the other is part of the myofascial meridian called the #Functional#Line. The thoracolumbar fascia plays a key role in#stabilization and movement, and with research discovering fascia’s role in back pain, it proves a valuable area to display through plastination.Photo Credit: ©FasciaResearchSociety.org/plastination #fasciaresearchsociety#fasciaresearchcongress #fasciaplastination #fascia#disection #plastination #plastinarium #anatomy#guben #germany #robertschleip #carlastecco#johnsharkey #fasciaresearch

ANATOMY 101: Intermuscular SeptumAn #intermuscular #septum is an #aponeurotic#sheath that divides muscle groups from each other thereby creating #compartments in the limbs. It is continuous with the aponeurotic fascia that wraps the outside of the entire limb and dives deep to connect with the bone. Functionally, intermuscular septa group muscles together and enhance their#force #transmission. Conversely, because of direct muscular connections to the septa, a hyper- or hypo-toned muscle could inadvertently have negative effects by restricting movement, strength, or stability.We find intermuscular septa in both the upper and lower extremities. In the upper #arm, the #medialand #lateral intermuscular septa divide the flexors (biceps et.al.) from the extensor muscles (triceps). In the #thigh, the lateral intermuscular septum divides the #hamstring muscles from the #quadriceps and the medial intermuscular septum divides the quadriceps from the #adductors. Additionally, there is a less evident septum between the adductor muscles and the hamstring muscles. Together, three#muscular #compartments of the thigh are formed: anterior, medial and posterior.In this image, what look like two "wings" are the aponeurotic fascia which has been separated from where it wrapped the entire limb. The bottom of the central "Y" image is where the septum dives down in between the muscles all the way to the bone, forming the intermuscular septum and divinding the muscles into separate compartments.Photo Credit: ©FasciaResearchSociety.org/plastination #fasciaresearchsociety#fasciaresearchcongress #fasciaplastination #fascia#plastination #plastinarium #guben #germany

ANATOMICAL ILLUSTRATION: Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519)Leonardo da Vinci was an #Italian #Renaissance#polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, #anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His anatomical drawings are still captivating and inspiring 500 years later!Source: http://www.antiqueanatomy.com/#fasciaresearchsociety #fasciaresearchcongress#fasciaplastination #fascia #plastination#plastinarium #guben #germany #anatomy#leonardo #davinci

Gary Carter discusses the common misconception of the "IT Band" as being a separate and distinct structure when in reality it is a part of the larger fascial wrapping of the thigh called the Fascia Lata. The Plastination Project Team has dissected this layer for plastination. After many months going through the plastination process, which thoroughly infuses the tissue with plastic polymers, this beautiful fascial structure will be reshaped to represent its original placement in the human body and displayed at the Fascia Research Congress in Berlin November 2018.  Video Credit: ©FasciaResearchSociety.org/plastination, Rachelle L. Clauson.

Rachelle L. Clauson discusses the layer on top of the "six pack", the abdominal Superficial Fascia and the dissection project she is working on in the lab. The team is attempting to remove the adipose (fat) tissue from the strong superficial fascia layer leaving it in tact for plastination, a many month process of fully infusing the tissue with plastic polymer, after which it will be displayed at the Fascia Research Congress in Berlin, Germany November 2018. Video Credit: ©FasciaResearchSociety.org/plastination, Jo Phee.

Jo Phee discusses the protective and supportive fascial covering of the heart, the Pericardium. The Fascial Net Plastination Team's dissection of the pericardium left the primary fascial connections in tact so we were able to reveal the glistening pericardial fascia encasing the heart and expose its remarkable continuity to the fascia of the respiratory diaphragm muscle. This prosection is going through the many month plastination process of being fully infused with plastic polymer after which it will be displayed at the Fascial Research Congress in Berlin November, 2018. Video Credit: ©FasciaResearchSociety.org/plastination, Rachelle L. Clauson

Adrian Woolley discusses her 5cm Cross Section of the Thigh Plastination Project and the “bags within bags” structure of the aponeurotic fascia, septa, and epimysial fascia. Video Credit: ©FasciaResearchSociety.org/plastination, Rachelle L. Clauson. #fasciaresearchsociety #fasciaresearchcongress #fasciaplastination #fascia #plastinarium #guben #germany #5cmslice #thigh