Body and Breath

Each month a new series of 10 questions will be posted on the Test Yourself page. The following month the questions will then be posted here along with the answers and explanations.

Answers to the April 2002 questions are posted below. ( View Archive )

101. Which one of the following terms is fictional?

a) cell bodies
b) axons
c) dendrites
d) farandolae
e) dorsal roots
f) ventral roots

The fictional term is farandolae, from the fertile imagination of Madeline L'Engle. Cell bodies contain the nuclei of neurons, axons carry information away from cell bodies, dendrites receive information from the environment or from other neurons, dorsal roots carry sensory information from the peripheral nervous system into the spinal cord, and ventral roots carry motor information away from the spinal cord into the peripheral nervous system.

102. In which one of the following circumstances is a textbook tidal volume generally seen?

a) driving an automobile
b) bellows breathing
c) complete breath
d) preparatory exhalation for uddiyana bhanda
e) kapalabhati
f) breathing in an inverted posture

I think the best answer is a, driving an automobile. Bellows breathing and kapalabhati typically make use of a smaller than usual tidal volume, carried out rapidly. A complete breath makes use either of one's inspiratory capacity or one's vital capacity, and the preparatory exhalation for uddiyana bandha exhales all the way to the residual volume. Inverted poses are variable, but often use larger than usual tidal volumes, and even if they feature the use of an ordinary textbook-sized tidal volume, they will do so closer to the residual volume.

103. Which three of the following items are always located in the mid-sagittal plane?

a) muscles
b) pubic symphysis
c) vertebral bodies
d) ligaments
e) tendons
f) intervertebral disks
g) intervertebral foramina
h) spinal nerves
i) sacroiliac joints
j) ribs
k) facet joints

The answers are b, c, and f. Muscles are generally located bilaterally, crossing the midline only rarely as in the case of skeletal muscles in the upper esophagus. And they are obviously not always located in the midline. The pubic symphysis, vertebral bodies, and intervertebral disks are always represented in the midline. Ligaments (excepting the anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments in the vertebral column) and tendons rarely attach to the midline, and certainly are not always located in the midline. Intervertebral foramina, spinal nerves, sacroiliac joints, ribs, and facet joints are never in the midline, much less always.

104. Which of the following muscles act as antigravity muscles (physiological extensors) in standing postures?

a) quadriceps femoris
b) erector spinae
c) rectus abdominis
d) soleus and gastrocnemius
e) semispinalis capitis
f) iliopsoas muscles
g) hamstrings

The answers are a, b, d, e, and g, and sometimes f. The quadriceps femoris muscles extend the knee, as in standing up fully from a slightly crouched position, or in walking up a flight of stairs. The erector spinae straightens the back and generally lifts the posture in a standing position. The rectus abdominis is antagonistic to the erector spinae, and is an antigravity muscle only while lifting up and out of a fully extended standing backbend. The soleus and gastrocnemius counteracts gravity by lifting you up on the balls of your feet while standing. The semispinalis muscle pulls the head to the rear and counteracts the effects of gravity, which in general pulls the head forward. The iliopsoas muscles (the hip flexors) are a special case. If you stand in a slight backbend with the hip hyperextended, the hip flexors will counteract gravity and lift you up, as in the case of the rectus abdominis. But if you are standing straight and suddenly thrust your hips to the rear, the hip flexors will aid gravity in dropping the posture. And finally, if you step forward from a standing position, the hip flexors will lift the forward-going foot and in so doing will be counteracting gravity. The hamstrings are antigravity muscles in that they lift one leg (incidentally bending the knee) when you want to stand on one foot, and in that they help extend the hip joint from a slightly flexed position in the forward-moving gait.

105. Which two of the following are not classified with the deep back muscles?

a) iliocostalis
b) longissimus
c) spinalis
d) latissimus dorsi
e) quadratus lumborum
f) multifidus
g) rotatores
h) interspinales
i) intertransversarii
j) trapezius

The only muscles in this group that are not deep back muscles by definition are the latissimus dorsi and the trapezius.

106. Which is the false statement regarding the following muscles of the lower extremity?

a) The hamstrings as a group flex the knee and extend the thigh.
b) The quadriceps femoris muscle extends the knee.
c) The adductors act to pull the thigh laterally (out to the side).
d) The iliopsoas muscles flex the thigh at the hip joint.
e) The rectus femoris muscle extends the knee and flexes the thigh.

The false statement is c. The adductors don't pull the thighs laterally. They act to pull the thighs closer together, just as a terrified passenger on a motorcycle squeezes his or her knees against the lateral aspects of the operator's thighs.

107. Which is the false statement regarding rotation of the legs at the knee joints?

a) The semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles are medial rotators of the legs.
b) The biceps femoris muscles are lateral rotators of the legs.
c) The popliteus muscles are medial rotators of the legs.
d) We get maximum rotation of the legs when the knees are extended.
e) The popliteus muscles are lateral rotators of the thighs.

This is easy for anyone who is a savvy test-taker, because the nature of d is so completely different from the rest of the answers. And indeed, d is the false statement. In fact, the extended knee is resistant to twisting because all the internal parts of the knee fit together in almost perfect congruence when the knee is extended. The knees must be flexed in order to be rotated.

108. Which two of the following seven muscles act on the arm directly from the torso rather than from the scapula?

a) supraspinatus
b) infraspinatus
c) latissimus dorsi
d) subscapularis
e) teres major
f) pectoralis major
g) teres minor

The answers are c and f. Only the latissimus dorsi and the pectoralis major muscles bypass the scapula. The latissimus dorsi takes origin from the pelvis and fascia of the lower back, runs through the axilla, and attaches to the medial aspect of the humerus. The pectoralis major rises from the front of the chest and attaches to the front of the humerus.

109. Which of the following muscles or muscle groups is least active isometrically in the most advanced version of the shoulderstand (the candle pose, as described in chapter nine)?

a) deep back muscles
b) hip extensors, especially the gluteus maximus
c) abdominal muscles and hip flexors
d) quadriceps femoris muscles
e) forearm extensors

The answer is c. In the candle posture (which is defined here as being unsupported by the hands as is generally done in the case of the beginning shoulderstand), muscles throughout the body are active that maintain the straightness of the body. These especially include the deep back muscles, hip extensors, quadriceps femoris muscles, and forearm extensors. The deep back muscles keep the spine extended (or try to do so), the hip extensors work vigorously to keep the hips extended, the quadriceps femoris muscles keep the knees extended, and forearm extensors keep the elbows extended. The abdominal muscles, on the other hand, are relaxed enough to permit abdominal breathing, and the hip flexors are completely passive, the last thing one needing in this posture being hip flexion.

110. Which three of the following six are largely irrelevant (neither stretched or very active) in the accomplished pose (siddhasana)?

a) adductors
b) erector spinae
c) strap muscles on the back of the neck such as the splenius capitis
d) muscles on the front of the neck such as the sternocleidomastoid
e) hamstrings
f) ankle extensors (gastrocnemius and soleus)

The answers are d, e, and f. The adductors are prominently stretched, the erector spinae muscles maintain the erect posture in the spine, and the strap muscles on the back of the neck and head keep the head upright and pulled to the rear. The muscles on the front of the neck are inactive except for serving as antagonists to the muscles on the back of the neck, the hamstrings are not under stretch because the knees are fully bent, and the ankle extensors are passive.