The Leg is Not the Appendage Upon Which You Walk
by Dr. Clay Rice
Image source: Unsplash
In order to make life far more interesting,
Anatomists spend their time rechristening
The various parts of the human form
With new names that defy the norm.
The arm is no longer your upper limb;
Instead, as though on a capricious whim
(Of which I'm a most objecting beholder),
It refers only from elbow to shoulder.
The leg is not the appendage upon which you walk,
A curiosity at which I most ardently balk.
See, it comprises only from ankle to knee.
It's amusing and perplexing, I think you'll agree,
This practice of renaming parts by their whole.
What if we called onions "green bean casserole?"
Or marshmallows "s'mores" or Paris "France?"
"The Nutcracker" instead of the Sugar Plum Fairy's Dance?
Perhaps the anatomists only wanted a laugh
At the expense of med students' unfortunate gaffes.
Whatever the case, whatever the reasons may be,
The arm is from shoulder to elbow and the leg from ankle to knee.
Dr. Clayton Rice is a recent graduate of the UTCOMLS. He is now a PGY1 at Cahaba Medical Care with the University of Alabama in Birmingham Family Medicine Residency Program in Birmingham, AL.
