Medical English - Reading - Body Extremes 1

the English





1. Speaking - Answer the following questions with your partner.

a. Which part of your body do you sit on?
b. Which part of your body do you use to clap?
c. Which part of your body do you lick with?
d. Which part of your body do you use to see?
e. Which part of your body do you kneel on?
f. Which part of your body do you use to think?
g. Which part of your body do you kick with?
h. Which part of your body do you use to point?

2. Vocabulary - Match the body parts a - j to their meanings 1 - 10.

a. limbs 1. your body, without the limbs and head
b. torso 2. your heart, lungs, kidneys, etc.
c. abdomen 3. your belly button
d. lap 4. your arms and legs
e. backside 5. your bum
f. organs 6. the flat area between your knees and waist when you sit down
g. navel 7. your belly
h. palm 8. the joints of your fingers, noticeable when you make a fist
i. knuckles 9. the upper part of your body, between the neck and stomach
j. chest 10. the inner surface of your hand

3. Speaking and Reading - Discuss the following questions with your partner?

1. Whats the name of the smallest bone in the body? Where is it?
2. Whats the hardest substance in the body?
3. Whats the longest cell in the body?
4. Whats the name of the largest artery in the body?
5. Whats the heaviest bodily organ?
6. Whats the name of the smallest muscle in the body? Where is it?
7. Whats the name of the largest muscle in the body? Where is it?
8. Whats the name of the largest bone in the body? Where is it?
Medical English - Reading - Body Extremes 2
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For those of you who havent
already heard, the smallest bones in the body are located in the
middle ear and are called the ossicles, which is Latin for small
bones. In order, from the eardrum to the inner ear, these bones
are the malleus, the incus and the stapes, also known as the
hammer, the anvil and the stirrup because of their shapes. The
smallest of these three bones is the stapes. It measures between
2.6 and 3.4mm and weighs 2 to 4.3mg. The ossicle bones actually
evolved from the jaw bone and have the function of transmitting
sound to the inner ear.
So, whats the biggest muscle in
the body? Well, chances are
youre sitting on it right now.
The buttock is the biggest
muscle of the body and one of
its main functions is to allow
you to sit in an upright position.
The muscles of the buttock are
called the gluteal muscles. There
are three of these and the largest
is called the gluteus maximus.
This muscle is closest to the
surface of the skin and is
therefore responsible for the
shape and appearance of your
bum.
4. Read the paragraphs below and answer all the relevant questions in exercise 3, page 1. When you
have finished tell your partner what you read and together answer all the questions.
Tiniest Bones
Biggest Muscles
Making up 15% of your body
wei ght the ski n i s the
heaviest organ of the body.
It is also the largest with a
surface area, for the
average adult, of between
1.5 - 2m
2
. In a typical 5cm
2

patch of skin there are 17
blood vessels, 540 sweat
glands, over a thousand
nerve endings and 50,000
melanocytes (cells which
p r o d u c e m e l a n i n ,
responsible for skin colour).


The longest cells in the body
are motor neurons, nerve cells, and the longest of these is the
sciatic nerve. Sending electrical pulses along their pathways,
motor neurons directly or indirectly control muscles. The sciatic
nerve runs from the spinal cord all the way down the lower limb
and can measure as long as 1.3 metres. Splitting into different
branches it supplies nearly all the skin of the leg, the muscles of
the back of the thigh and muscles of the leg and foot.
Heaviest Organ
Longest Cells
Medical English - Reading - Body Extremes 3
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The strongest bone in the body is also the largest and longest
and is known as the femur bone. The word femur is Latin for
thigh and the femur bone is classified, according to its shape,
as a long bone. It is mostly made of compact bone with spongy
bone and marrow in its hollow centre. The femur bone forms
part of both the hip and the knee. The head of the femur is
connected to the hip with a ball and socket joint, while the
bottom end is connected to the knee with a hinge joint.
At a l i t t l e o v e r o n e
millimetre in length, the
smallest muscle in the body
is the stapedius. This is
located in the middle ear
and has the function of
stabilizing the smallest
bone in the body, the stapes.
Th e s t a p e d i u s s t o p s
excessive movement of the
stapes and helps to control
sound wave ampl i tude.
Paralysis of this muscle
results in sounds being
percei ved as very loud.
4. Read the paragraphs below and answer all the relevant questions in exercise 3, page 1. When you
have finished tell your partner what you read and together answer all the questions.
Strongest bone
Minute Muscles
The hardest part of your body is
the bit you use to bite. The
enamel which covers the crown
of your teeth is the hardest and
most mineralized substance of
the body. 96% of enamel is
mineral and most of this is a
crystalline calcium phosphate
called hydroxyapatite. Enamel is
thickest at the cusp of the tooth
(the sharp point) at 2.5mm and
is supported underneath by a
layer of dentine. The colour of
enamel vari es from a li ght
yel l ow t o a grayi sh whi t e.

Beginning with a diameter of 3cm the aorta is the largest and
widest artery in the body. Originating from the left ventricle
of the heart the aorta supplies oxygenated blood to all parts
of the body in the systemic circulation. It is an elastic
artery, expanding when the left ventricle forces blood into it
by contracting. The aorta divides at the level of the fourth
lumbar vertebra. Here it has a diameter of about 1.75cm.
Hardest Substance
Largest Artery
Medical English - Reading - Body Extremes 4
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5. Reading - comprehension check. Answer the following questions.

a. How many bones are there in the middle ear? What are they called?
b. What is the purpose of the bones in the middle ear?
c. What percentage of your body weight is made up by the skin?
d. How many sweat glands are there in a 5cm
2
patch of skin?
e. What do your buttock muscles allow you to do?
f. How long is the sciatic nerve?
g. Whats in the middle of the femur bone?
h. What percentage of your tooth enamel is made of mineral?
i. What colour is tooth enamel?
j. What is the function of the stapedius?
k. Which part of the heart is the aorta connected to?
l. What is the diameter of the aorta when it leaves the heart?

6. Speaking - Discuss your answers to the following questions with your partner.

a. Do you have sensitive skin?
b. Do you have dry or greasy skin?
c. Have you ever had sunburn?
d. Have you ever had a skin allergy or a rash?
e. Have you ever broken a bone?
f. Have you ever had earache?
g. Have you ever had hearing problems?
h. Have you ever pulled a muscle?
i. Do you exercise to keep good muscle tone?
j. Are you a nervous person?
k. Whos the most nervous person you know?
l. Do you have good teeth?
m. When was the last time you went to the dentists?
n. Have you ever had toothache?
o. Have you ever had a tooth taken out by a dentist?
Medical English - Reading - Body Extremes 5
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Jigsaw Reading - Body Extremes - Teachers notes Procedure and Answers
This is a multi-skills based lesson, providing speaking and reading practice. Timing = 90+ minutes.

1. Exercise 1, page 1 - Speaking. Do this exercise as an open activity with the whole class. Nominate one student to read out
the first question and another student to give the answer, continuing this process for all the questions. You could then do
a class competition. Divide the students into two groups and set a time limit of 6 minutes. Each group must come up with
ten questions following the example in exercise 1, e.g. what part of the body do you use to slap, wink, walk, kiss, etc.
Monitor closely at this stage and help with suggestions. Conduct the competition and keep scores on the whiteboard.
2. Exercise 2, page 1 - Vocabulary. Individually, students match the words numbered a-j to their definitions 1-10. They may
use dictionaries to help with unfamiliar words. Students check their answers in pairs. Conduct class feedback. The words
do not relate to the paragraphs on pages 2 and 3.
3. Exercise 3, page 1 - Pre-reading task. These are the first questions relating to the paragraphs on pages 2 and 3. Students
work in pairs and try to answer the questions with their existing knowledge, if they dont know an answer they can either
guess or just leave it and move on.
4. Exercise 4, pages 2 and 3 - Reading. Give one student in each pair handout A (page 2) and the other student handout B
(page 3). Individually students read their articles and answer all the questions in exercise 3, page 1, relevant to their
paragraphs. Monitor the students answers closely at this stage and make any necessary corrections. Odd numbered
questions relate to the paragraphs on handout A while even numbered questions relate to the paragraphs on handout B.
5. Speaking - information exchange. In pairs once more, students exchange the information they have read. Each student
takes it in turn to ask their partner one of the questions from exercise 3, page 1, that they themselves were not able to
answer. Encourage students to give as much information as possible. Discourage students from making notes and writing
the answers their partner is telling them.
6. Exercise 5, page 4 - Reading comprehension. This is the second set of questions related to the reading texts. You can
either set this exercise as another reading and speaking information gap activity or give all of the students both of the
reading handouts to read and answer all the questions.
7. Exercise 6, page 4 - Speaking. In pairs or small groups students discuss their answers to questions a - p. Conduct class
feedback, eliciting any interesting information or stories. Conduct an error correction session as appropriate.

Answers
Exercise 1, Page 1 Exercise 2, Page 1 Exercise 3, Page 1
a. bum / buttocks a. 4 f. 2 1. The stapes / in the middle ear
b. hands b. 1 g. 3 2. Tooth enamel
c. tongue c. 7 h. 10 3. The sciatic nerve
d. eyes d. 6 i. 8 4. The aorta
e. knees e. 5 j. 9 5. The skin
f. head / brain 6. The stapedius / in the middle ear
g. foot 7. Gluteus maximus / the buttock
h. finger 8. The femur bone / the thigh

Exercise 5, Page 4 - comprehension check
a. Three - the malleus, the incus and the stapes, also called the hammer, the anvil and the stirrup. Collectively called ossicles.
b. The ossicle bones transmit sound to the inner ear.
c. 15% of body weight is made up by the skin.
d. There are 540 sweat glands.
e. The buttock muscles allow you to sit upright.
f. The sciatic nerve measures up to 1.3 metres long.
g. Inside the femur bone is spongy bone and marrow.
h. 96% of your tooth is mineral.
i. Tooth enamel varies in colour from a light yellow to a grayish white.
j. The stapedius muscle stabilizes the stapes bone in the middle ear.
k. The aorta is connected to the left ventricle.
l. When the aorta leaves the heart its diameter is 3cm.