Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2016 October 13

= October 13 =

Do T3 and T4 hormones play role in regulation of the body temperature?
I know that they play role in stimulation of the metabolism rate, growth and development and brain maturation during fetal development. but my question is on the regulation of the body temperature. (I can understand that the metabolism rate relates in such way or another to the temperature) 93.126.88.30 (talk) 00:26, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * I had high hopes for the article Thermoregulation in humans, but it doesn't seem to go into that kind of detail. I didn't watch this video here: .  But the title has some potential to be useful.  -- Jayron 32 02:00, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately there's no information there. but thank you for your motivation to help. 93.126.88.30 (talk) 17:44, 13 October 2016 (UTC)

Are follicles the structural units for all types of glands or just thyroid gland?
I am reading about the thyroid gland now and the book states: "Thyroid tissue is composed of follicles, which are structural units of the gland". It's not clear if it refers to any gland or to the thyroid only. According to what I read here (follicular cell) it seems to be in thyroid glands only, but I'm not sure about it. 93.126.88.30 (talk) 01:17, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Have a look at Endocrine gland, all of them are linked and have a "structure" section. While I admit it's a little ambiguous, I think using "the gland" in the sentence indicates reference to the object, in this case "Thyroid", not "glands" in general. If instead follicular tissue was the substance all glands are made out of, the sentence would make a lot less sense. Vespine (talk) 01:26, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Just analyzing the sentence, "units of the gland" means a specific gland, to me, while "units of a gland" or better yet "any gland", would have the more general meaning. StuRat (talk) 14:19, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Google's dictionary says a follicle is "a small secretory cavity, sac, or gland, in particular." NOAD's definition is identical. Arnold's Glossary of anatomy has a similarly broad definition, as does Wiktionary . Our own article Follicle_(anatomy) gives the broad sense too. Ovary has follicles. Peyer's_patch is described as a follicle. Lymphatic_system says there are lymphoid follicles in tonsils.
 * These links show that the term 'follicle' has a general anatomical usage, and it is clear that glands other than thyroid have sub structures called follicles. I would not assert, based on this evidence, that all glands have substructures described as follicles. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:46, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Anatomical usage is basically descriptive Latin. follicle from folliculus, a small follis.  In common Late Latin, a follicle is a little sac, like the scrotum; in anatomy, the term has since been applied at the end of a microscope. Wnt (talk) 15:59, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * Just looked at this again and tried some random searches. "Mammary follicle", "Harderian follicle", "parotid follicle" basically strike out.  "Pituitary follicle" and "prostatic follicle" hit on stuff.  "Sebaceous follicle" is the gland.  "Salivary follicle" hits really old literature, comparative anatomy.  I'm not sure though how much difference is biological and how much is cultural, basically random chance of who uses what term (also Harderian is pretty obscure, but "lacrimal follicle" picks up only junk hits also).  It would take a long time to think this one through properly. Wnt (talk) 22:28, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * That is consistent with some of my research as well. Another tack is to search each article in List of glands of the human_body to see which use the term. I noted a few that did, many that did not. It's hard to rule out linguistic/cultural trends in science. I don't think we have any actual physiologists or anatomists in the house, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong on that. SemanticMantis (talk) 14:28, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

Mortality during pregnancy
What happens when a pregnant woman dies during the middle of her pregnancy? What happens when a married man dies during the middle of his wife's pregnancy? GeoffreyT2000 ( talk,  contribs ) 16:48, 13 October 2016 (UTC)


 * "What happens?" is very broad. Can you specify what aspects you are interested in? Life insurance may come into play in either scenario. Maternal death is our article about women who die during pregnancy. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:10, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * See en ventre sa mere for the legal implications in common-law jurisdictions of the second case. Tevildo (talk) 18:11, 13 October 2016 (UTC)
 * There is also Posthumous birth although it includes cases where the father isn't married to the mother, sometimes not even alive during conception. And in rare cases of the first, there is Coffin birth. Nil Einne (talk) 07:02, 14 October 2016 (UTC)