Evolutionary defects in human body

 Our human body which looks so perfect all dressed up is actually not that perfect after all. All those trips to beauticians and gym may make us look pretty and muscular on the outside but on the inside there are quite a few things which make us fragile. We have to remember that we were apes not so long back in evolution terms and as we progressed from apes to humans evolution tweaked a few things which can make our life painful in no time.

The first thing that we notice is the eyes because we use it the most. Our eyesight gets week in an early age and as our diets have changed and excessive viewing of screens now a day’s, wearing glasses from elementary schools is quite common. Just think of our early ancestors with weak eyesight’s, their chances of survival would reduce a lot as they could not hunt properly and would be easy prey for animals.

Our sinus is a constant source of irritation to us. When air enters the nasal cavity it passes through mucous membranes to filter dust from the air and those sensitive to it have bouts of sneezes and runny nose and headaches due to it.

In the inside of the throat and chest the air we breathe and the food we eat passes through the same pipe. The only thing that controls the movement of air to lungs and the food to stomach is the epiglottis. It is again a thin layer which gives direction to the air and food. When it is open we breathe and when it is closed then we a can eat and drink. A slight mistiming can cause choking and even death. This miss timing can happen easily because the voice box is also quite high on the throat just below the epiglottis, so when we both eat and breathe and talk we are very prone to choking.

When we were apes then we used the four limbs to walk and run but as evolution made us walk on two, it did not make all the parts strong enough. There are some weak links which can make us unfit to walk easily. The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is not a very strong ligament which holds the knee joints in place when we turn suddenly. As there is no other support for it, it can get torn easily.  Same is with the Achilles tendon which takes all the weight when we walk. If this tendon gets damaged in any way then we will not be able to walk. For our early ancestors this would mean death.

Our fore arm has a palmaris longus muscle which was required by apes to climb trees but now we do not need it. Now 15 percent of the population do not have this muscle, so if you do not have it then you have made a sort of evolutionary leap. Our spine is also not the best of the design and puts pressure on the lower back due to its opposite curvature on the upper side and lower side.

With evolution the appendix has become a useless part of the body but if it somehow bursts then it becomes a life threatening situation requiring immediate surgery. Our tail bone is also a remnant of our evolution process but if we somehow hurt it then it also becomes a very painful thing. Our diet is also a weak link of our body. For all major nutrients we are dependent on external source as our body cannot produce most of them.  Many animals have the capability to make many of the vitamins minerals and amino acids. About half a dozen proteins are depended on vitamin C, and we are dependent on external source for it. Same is the case with other essential nutrients. There are 20 amino acids which we require but our bodies make only eleven of them, for the rest we have to look outside. Even our digestive system is not as strong as animals.

Our heart has two unconnected arteries. If our arteries get blocked then it can cause death but if these two arteries were connected to the heart then blood would continue to flow into the heart and we would survive. Even our new born babies are the weakest of all and require care the longest time to survive on their own. Also as the head of an unborn baby is quite large and there may face problem coming out of the pelvic muscle, needing C section for a safe delivery.

No animal is perfect. If we had the best attributes from all the animals then we would have a perfect human body but we would look quite different. Evolution is not about making body perfect but to make it good enough to survive and adapt. After that is dependent on other factors whether it will survive or perish. That again depends on certain factors which we can control and not control. Dinosaurs were predominant but they perished because they could not handle the meteor strike, there are hundreds of species which we humans were responsible for extinction.

The only thing we are better off is our brain function and we have used it to offset some of our physical weaknesses. It is however likely that our future generations thousands of years from now may not look the same as we do now as our body will slowly adopt to the changing environment.