Navel 231386 224070562 2008-07-07T04:37:43Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Unreferenced|date=September 2006}} {{otheruses}} {{distinguish2|[[Naval]] (i.e., relating to a navy)}} {{Infobox Anatomy | Name = Navel | Latin = umbilicus | GraySubject = | GrayPage = | Image = Femnavel.jpg | Caption = Human navel. The depression of the navel is often referred to as an innie. | Image2 = | Caption2 = | Precursor = | System = | Artery = | Vein = | Nerve = | Lymph = | MeshName = | MeshNumber = | DorlandsPre = u_02 | DorlandsSuf = 12836058 | }} The '''navel''' (also called an '''umbilicus''' or, colloquially, '''belly button''') is a [[scar]] on the [[abdomen]], caused when the [[umbilical cord]] is removed from a newborn [[baby]]. All [[Placentalia|placental]] [[mammal]]s have a navel. While it is fairly conspicuous in [[human]]s, in most mammals it appears only as a thin hairless line. In humans, the scar can appear as a depression (often referred to as an '''innie''') or as a protrusion ('''outie'''). Although they can be separated into these two categories, navels actually vary quite drastically among people in terms of size, shape, depth/length, and overall appearance. As navels are essentially scars, and not in any way defined by [[genetics]], they can serve as a way of distinguishing between identical [[twin]]s in the absence of other identifiable marks. == Human anatomy == This section focuses on externally-visible aesthetics of the navel in human anatomy. ''Information regarding fetal circulation -- how oxygenated blood and nutrients are absorbed by a fetus from the umbilical cord -- may be found under [[umbilical vein]] and [[umbilical artery]], both of which are [[umbilical vessels]].'' The umbilicus is an important landmark on the abdomen since its position is relatively consistent among humans. The skin around the waist at the level of the umbilicus is supported by the tenth thoracic [[spinal nerve]] (T10 [[dermatome]]). The umbilicus itself lies at the level between L3/L4 vertebrae. [[Image:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb| |right| |200 px|Navel at Golden Section - 62% of body height]] The reason for the occurrence of an outie is extra skin left from the umbilical cord or [[umbilical hernia]]s, although a child with an umbilical hernia will not necessarily develop an outie. As well as the visible depression on a person's abdomen, the underlying abdominal-muscle layers also present a concavity; thinness at this point contributes to a relative structural weakness, making it susceptible to [[hernia]]. During [[pregnancy]], the [[uterus]] presses the navel of the [[pregnancy|pregnant]] woman outward. It usually retracts after [[birth]]. The umbilicus is also used to visually separate the abdomen into quadrants. The navel comes in the center of the circle enclosing the [[Spreadeagle (position)|spread-eagle]] figure in [[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s [[Vitruvian Man]], his famous drawing on human proportions. This illustrates the principle that in the shift between the spread-eagle pose and the straight pose, the apparent center of the figure seems to move, but in reality, the navel of the figure, which is the true [[center of gravity]], remains motionless.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} The height at which navels are located on the abdomen is variable. An ideal proportion of navel height versus body height is said to be based on the [[Golden Section]], also known as the "Divine Proportion" by philosophers and artists. This is a geometric proportion in which a line is divided so that the ratio of the length of the longer line segment to the length of the entire line is equal to the ratio of the length of the shorter line segment to the length of the longer line segment. This Golden Section ratio has a numerical value of approximately 1.618. In other words, an ideal navel height is about 62% of the body height and is said to exhibit special beauty as the legs and [[torso]] appear in sound proportion. ==Fashion== {{Original research|date=September 2007}} [[Image:Hüfthose.jpg|thumb|200px|A woman wearing a [[cropped top]], a style of shirt that displays the midriff and navel.]] [[Fashion]] sometimes exploits the navel through [[clothing]] that leaves part of the lower abdomen (i.e., the [[midriff]]) bare, a usage that is much more common for women than for men. Displaying a bare navel has been and still is a [[taboo]] in certain [[Western culture]]s since the sheath-like appearance of the navel (especially of an 'innie') has [[eroticism|erotic]] overtones. For example, in the 1960s, [[Barbara Eden]] was not allowed to show her navel on the TV show ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]''. The modern trend of exposing the navel has usually been confined to women, aside from a male belly-button shirt fad in [[1980s fashion]] (men usually bare their navels only when they take their shirts off entirely). While the West was more resistant to midriff-baring dresses until the 1980s, [[India]]n women have traditionally worn [[sari]]s that usually expose the navel as the [[blouse]]/[[choli]] that is worn with it is intentionally kept short. In Indian culture, exposure of the navel is not considered a taboo and has, in fact, long been accepted as a graceful identifying mark of a married woman. A dimpled navel is considered a special asset of any prospective bride especially amongst [[South Indian]] women and an important quality of any budding Bollywood actress. Other Indian communities that take navels in their stride include the [[Rajasthan]]is and [[Gujarati people|Gujaratis]], whose women leave the midriff exposed while wearing short cholis with traditional gypsy skirts. However, these women cover their heads with a 'chador' and even cover their faces in front of strangers, which lends credence to the belief that navel-baring in India has a symbolic, almost mystical, association with birth and life and that the display is meant to emphasise the centrality of nature in the nurture role. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} Along with the acceptance of navel display in Western societies, [[navel piercing]] is becoming more common among young women. Short shirts to expose navels may also be worn to expose stomach/navel tattoos. == Sexuality == The navel's transfiguration from a vestigial fetal feeding tube to a woman's erotic appendage can be ascertained from the attention it gets, ranging from men's casual stares to more intimate prodding. Navels can be the focus of [[navel fetishism|sexual fetishism]], especially among males. While [[cleavage (breasts)|cleavage]] of the [[breast]]s is certainly meant to display feminine charms and has a risqué, "turn-on" appeal, a navel can also be considered an object of sexual appeal. This attitude towards the navel (in contrast with breast cleavage) is shown in the hit '60's cult situation comedy ''[[Gilligan's Island]]''. In ''Gilligan's Island'', Ginger, the sexy movie star, often displays cleavage, but very rarely shows her navel, whereas Mary Ann, who's more the ingenue type, does sometimes show her navel, but does not show cleavage. In the ''[[Song of Solomon]]'', the book of Old Testament, there are allusions to exotic things in nature, with frequent interweaving of nature with erotic imagery. The navel figures in Solomon's lavish praise of his love (the country girl, Sulaimi) thus: "thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor"(7:2). The modern-day Deirdre Day-MacLeod describes the navel's appeal thus: "Neither procreative nor nutritive, perhaps it is the navel's lack of obvious purpose, combined with its audacious, almost arrogant, spot right there in the middle of things, that sucks its admirers in."<ref>http://www.identitytheory.com/nonfiction/day_navel.php</ref> ==Other meanings== * The word "navel", or its equivalent in other languages, has been used sometimes for the center of something, e.g., "[[nave]]" of a [[wheel]]. * [[Tortellini]] might represent the belly button of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], the Goddess of Love in [[Roman mythology]] ([[Aphrodite]] in [[Greek mythology]]). ==See also== {{wiktionarypar|umbilicus}} * [[Abdominal hair]] * [[Granuloma]] * [[Navel lint]] * [[Navel fetishism]] * [[Omphaloskepsis]] * [[Omphalos]] * [[Umbilical hernia]] * [[Umbilicoplasty]] or Belly Button Surgery ==References== {{reflist}} {{human anatomical features}} [[Category:Abdomen]] [[ar:سرة]] [[ay:Kururu]] [[ca:Melic]] [[pdc:Nawwel]] [[de:Bauchnabel]] [[el:Ομφαλός]] [[es:Ombligo]] [[eo:Umbiliko]] [[fr:Ombilic]] [[ko:배꼽]] [[id:Pusar]] [[it:Ombelico]] [[he:טבור]] [[la:Umbilicus]] [[ln:Litɔlú]] [[nl:Navel]] [[ja:へそ]] [[no:Navle]] [[nn:Navle]] [[pl:Pępek]] [[pt:Umbigo]] [[scn:Viddicu]] [[simple:Umbilicus]] [[fi:Napa (anatomia)]] [[sv:Navel]] [[tl:Pusod]] [[tr:Göbek (anatomi)]] [[zh:肚脐]]