“We are mammals and blessed with body hair, three middle ear bones, and the ability to nourish our young with milk that females produce in modified sweat glands called mammary glands. Although females have the mammary glands, we all start out in a similar way in the embryo. During development, the embryo follows a female template until about six weeks, when the male sex chromosome kicks in for a male embryo. The embryo then begins to develop all of its male characteristics. Men are thus left with nipples and also with some breast tissue. Men can even get breast cancer and there are some medical conditions that can cause male breasts to enlarge. Abnormal enlargement of the breasts in a male is known as gynecomastia. Gynecomastia can be caused by using anabolic steroids. So, if Barry Bonds ends up coming to the old-timers game with a pair of sagging 44DD man boobs, then I think we will finally have our answer to the steroid controversy.”
This is just one of the many trivial questions answered by Mark Leyner, a writer of The New Yorker, Time and GQ, and Dr. Billy Goldberg, an emergency medicine physician and a faculty of a New York City teaching hospital, in their book “Why Do Men Have Nipples?: Hundreds of Questions You’d Only Ask A Doctor After Your Third Martini”.
A copy of this book was shared to me by my boss and even by just browsing through it, I can tell that it’s a good read. The authors tried to answer questions like:
Does it really take seven years to digest chewing gum?
Does sugar really make kids hyperactive?
Does eating chocolate cause acne?
Do cucumbers relieve puffy eyes?
Can carrots help improve your vision?
What causes morning breath?
Why do you have an appendix if you can live without it?
Does drinking kill brain cells?
Why can you ignite a fart?
Do your nails or hair grow after you die?
The answers to these questions are not really emphasized in med school so I think it would be nice to know them, coming from what the authors have gathered. Their disclaimer though is that, “What you are about to read is mostly true, as far as we know. But this book in no way should substitute for a visit to your doctor. Remember, doctors are trained professionals. Also, do not attempt to answer these questions yourself unless you are a mother. Mother always knows best.”
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