The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is one of two major divisions of the larger autonomic system in your body. Its function is to keep the basic functions of your body working as they should.

The vagus nerve sprawls from the brain through the body, innervating our organs and managing life support and emotion. Sally Caulwell for Quanta Magazine The original version of this story appeared in ...

Chromosomes are thread-like structures comprising DNA that are present inside the nucleus of every cell in the body. Specific segments of DNA are called genes. Every chromosome contains many genes, ...

Human evolution is often told as a tidy story of adaptation, yet some of our most familiar body parts still defy ...

The integumentary system is the physical system that forms the barrier between the external environment and the internal systems of the body. In humans, this system consists of skin, hair, nails, and ...

What Is the Body’s Core? Your body’s core is the term used for the group of muscles within your midsection that stabilize your spine and pelvis. Several muscles and groups of muscles make up the core ...

As anyone who experiences it knows, pregnancy vastly transforms the body – and now we have the most detailed picture yet of how it affects the blood, organs and immune system on a weekly basis. This ...

You might celebrate one birthday each year, but inside your body, different organs are marching to their own biological drums. That number on your driver’s license? It’s just a rough average that ...

The function of a deodorant is to mask body odor, while antiperspirants aim to block sweat production. They also have different ingredients, and different regulations apply to each. People often use ...