Main description:

A Muscle Odyssey follows Splancreas and some other offal (Matador, 2013), Nephrosapiens (Matador, 2012) and Man and the Liver (Matador, December 2011). Robert D. Cohen's previous books in his biological series have described the evolution, development, anatomy, physiology and pathology of liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, brain and testicles, and have referred to how these subjects have been treated in literature, cuisine and linguistics. All these may be referred to as 'innards', in contrast to what might be regarded as 'outers', i.e. the framework which contains and moves all these vital organs. However, this distinction is not absolute, since muscle appears in the walls of blood vessels, gut and airways, and in an internal sphincter - the sphincter of Oddi - which is the orifice through which the enzymatic secretions of the pancreas enter the small gut. This framework contains, of course, skin and bone, in addition to muscle. Robert now moves on in the same vein, dealing with history, evolution, embryology, anatomy, physiology, pathology of muscle and its roles in art and music. A Muscle Odyssey will appeal to readers interested in human biology.