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Metamerism

Updated: Apr 3, 2020

We can think of no better example of Jon Zahourek’s trademark excitement for all things anatomical than the last two seconds of this brief video.


What provokes this particular burst of eyebrow-popping enthusiasm?

A key fact about metamerism.

Wikipedia: “In biology, metamerism is the phenomenon of having a linear series of body segments fundamentally similar in structure.”



Earthworms, for instance.

Or the tail of a crayfish. Or lobster.

Repeat patterns of anatomy, notes Zahourek, create predictability.

Patterns make the complex simple.

“If you know the anatomy of any one of those segments, you know the anatomy of all the segments,” says Zahourek in the video. “If you know the muscles between one set of ribs and one set of vertebrae, you own axial anatomy.”

We hope you own it, too.

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