Editing 2960: Organ Meanings

{{comic
| number    = 2960
| date      = July 17, 2024
| title     = Organ Meanings
| image     = organ_meanings_2x.png
| imagesize = 407x346px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = IMO the thymus is one of the coolest organs and we should really use it in metaphors more.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a graph by [[Randall]] ranking how well he understands the function of certain human organs, compared to how much he understands {{w|metaphor}}s using them.

A number of organs (and other body parts) are used in common vernacular for metaphorical meaning. The English language is full of sayings like "she had a lot of heart", "go with your gut", and "he hasn't got the stomach for it". One might expect understanding an organ's role and its use in metaphor to be strongly correlated, since the metaphors generally work by drawing a parallel to biological function. However, since our understanding of biological functions has evolved dramatically over time, and metaphorical language does not always keep up, the correspondence is often much looser. To complicate matters, many such anatomical metaphors vary from culture to culture, even though the biological functions remain largely consistent.{{Citation needed}}

The {{w|pineal gland}}, located in the center of the brain, was described as the "Seat of the Soul" by the {{w|Mind–body dualism|mind-body dualist}} {{w|René Descartes}} in the 17th century. If this was true, the metaphors that might be derived from it would be quite clear. It was only in the mid-20th century that its real neuroendocrine (hormone-producing) biological role was grasped. Thus, the real meaning of the metaphor "the pineal gland of something" is uncertain, as is its actual function for the layman. It was also described as a "third eye", as its regulation of the circadian rhythm used to be linked to light perception in the organ, and still is in {{w|Tuatara|Tuataras}}. It is also jokingly stated as still the location of the soul within discordianism.

The {{w|thymus}}, highlighted in the title text, plays an important role in the immune system. It is not commonly used in metaphors,{{Citation needed}} but is perhaps ripe for use in ones describing such things as resilience, indomitability, and adaptability to changing circumstance, were more people to know what it was.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Organ !! Biological understanding !! Metaphor understanding !! Biological function !! Metaphor meaning(s) !! Comments
|-
| {{w|Appendix_(anatomy)|Appendix}} || 3% || 85% || Maintaining gut flora, introducing pathogens to the immune system || Uselessness; extraneousness ||  The appendix was long assumed to be vestigial with no useful function, and thus could be removed with minimal consequences. Modern research has shown that it retains utility as reservoir for useful micro-organisms. It is also unclear whether metaphorical usages have in mind the body part, or the alternative usage referring to a part of a publication.
|-
| {{w|Nerves}} || 40% || 90% || Sensing stimuli, and controlling muscles and organs || Courage; lack of courage; unsettledness; arrogance; (emotional) feeling || The basic workings of the nervous system are well-understood, but combining many neurons creates an emergent system that is {{w|Brain simulation|practically impossible to predict}}.
|-
| {{w|Spine}} || 50% || 80% || Holding other bones up, protecting the spinal cord || Courage; resoluteness; structural integrity; centrality ||
|-
| {{w|Heart}} || 80% || 90% || Circulation of blood || Emotion; feeling; sympathy; love; courage; resilience; core; essence; the vulnerable self || The function of the heart is (relatively) easy to understand, since it is, in essence, a circulatory pump. However, it has long been culturally associated with emotion and resolve. 
|-
| {{w|Bones}} || 75% || 80% || Holding the body up, protection of underlying organs || Basic/underlying structure; something hidden; core; essence; an issue of debate  || Bone marrow is the actual source of blood, associated with {{w|four humours|sanguine moods}}, previously believed to be created in the liver
|-
| {{w|Stomach}} || 70% || 65% || Repository for cake and other, less important, foods || Ability to tolerate unpleasant circumstances; motivation || The stomach's primary function is as part of the digestive system, but it's often one of the first organs impacted by illness or disgust, which has made a strong stomach a metaphor for constitution and resolve. 
|-
| {{w|Liver}} || 10% || 48% || Processing alcohol and other important metabolic functions like glycemia regulation, toxin processing, decomposition/production of amino acids and lipids, etc. || Courage or lack thereof (e.g., lily-livered) || Actual source of yellow bile, stored in the gall bladder, associated with {{w|four humours|choleric moods}} but previously believed to be the source of blood
|-
| {{w|Lungs}} || 60% || 52% || Oxygenation of blood, exhalation of carbon dioxide || Loudness (e.g., of singing); purification; aerobic stamina || Source of phlegm, associated with {{w|four humours|phlegmatic moods}}
|-
| {{w|Spleen}} || 22% || 34% || Storing extra blood, filtering blood for damaged cells and pathogens || Anger; viciousness, "venting one's spleen"  || Source of black bile, associated with {{w|four humours|melancholy}}
|-
| {{w|Thymus}} || 10% || 13% || Training immune cells (T-Cells) || ||
|-
| {{w|Kidneys}} || 47% || 19% || Filtering blood for metabolic wastes and excess minerals || ||
|-
| {{w|Pineal gland}} || 2% || 2% || Produces melatonin ||  || Philosophers from Herophilus to Descartes speculated that the pineal gland might be the seat of the soul, or regulate the flow of vital spirits, or otherwise serve an important metaphysical function.
|-
| {{w|Tongue}} || 70% || 5% || Taste, chewing, speaking || Language; unidentified speakers (particularly in relation to gossip/secrets); something long and extended ||
|}

As [[Randall]] does not provide any examples, only his general ratings, it is not entirely clear whether he has restricted himself to metaphors drawing upon the nature of organs (e.g. "heart of the city" or "bone dry") and/or metaphorically describing these organs in terms of another idea ("a heart of gold" or "his bones turned to jelly"). As well as metaphor, the assessment might also involve all closely related (or overlapping) rhetorical devices such as {{w|simile}} ("his heart fluttered like a butterfly"), {{w|metonymy}} ("my mother tongue"), other references with an intent more figurative than literal ("he was a bundle of nerves"), or misattributed bodily functions ("I feel it in my bones"). As such, any contributed examples given here could be disputed in all except the broadest of terms.

==Transcript==
:[A graph is shown with X and Y-axis without arrow or ticks. To the left of the Y-axis and below the X-axis there are labels with an arrow pointing up from the top of the Y-axis label and an arrow pointing right above the X-axis label, just beneath the x-axis.]
:Y-axis: How well I understand what it means when used in metaphors
:X-axis: How well I understand its actual biological function

:[On the graph is a scatter plot with 13 labels. Each label is written inside a line that goes just around the words. There are most in the top right corner, but they are spread all over the graph. Here in approximate reading order from top left with indicating of where on the graph the words are located:]
:[Top left:] 
:Appendix
:[Top middle:] 
:Nerves
:Spine
:[Top right:] 
:Heart
:Bones
:Stomach
:[Center left:] 
:Liver
:Spleen
:[Center right:] 
:Lungs
:[Bottom left:]
:Thymus
:Pineal gland
:[Bottom middle:]
:Kidneys
:[Bottom right:]
:Tongue

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Language]]