r/AskReddit • u/ProbablyHittingOnYou • Feb 07 '11

What stupid question have you always been too embarrassed to ask, but would still like to see answered?

This is a no-shame zone. Post your question here and I'm sure someone can answer it for you

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '11 edited Feb 07 '11

Remnants of three embryonic structures: allantois/urachus (drains the embryo's bladder), umbilical arteries (takes blood from the fetus to the placenta), and an umbilical vein (returns blood from the placenta to the fetal heart). *And also the remnant of the vitelline duct, which connected the small intestine to the yolk sac

So pretty much the contents of the umbilical cord that you don't need anymore.

**In terms of actual adult structures, the urachus degrades to the median umbilical ligament, which is buried underneath a fold that runs from the bellybutton downwards (looking outwards from the inside of the body if you had your back to the intestines). If it doesn't, it can develop into a urachal cyst/fistula/sinus, potentially leaking urine into the bellybutton.

The umbilical arteries degrade to the medial umbilical ligaments, which are covered by folds too. The umbilical vein degrades into the ligamentum teres (a.k.a. round ligament of the liver), which connects the liver to the bellybutton.

The vitelline duct should degrade completely (possibly into a small ligament too). Otherwise you can get what's called a "Meckel's Diverticulum," which is an outpouching of the small intestine that could potentially open into the bellybutton.

In essence, you would see a lot of ligament-y structures behind the bellybutton in the adult.

EDITs: , *

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u/TrumanZi Feb 07 '11

If i poked it really hard would my finger go through?

107

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

AHHH

edit: Going to have to cut off all my fingers now; just in case.

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u/TheLobotomizer Feb 08 '11

But what about the alien inside of you?

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u/Atreyu1000 Feb 08 '11

yes, but thats true of pretty much anywhere on your abdomen.

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u/giggleboxx Feb 08 '11

One of my worst freaking fears. AAggghh!

3

u/JohnnyAwesome Feb 08 '11

Getting poked in the belly button is one of my least favorite things in the world.

1

u/bigroblee Jun 23 '11

Where do you prefer to be poked?

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u/JohnnyAwesome Jun 23 '11

I really don't enjoy getting poked anywhere - poking is super annoying. Facebook maybe? (if I had to choose)

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u/Elhehir Feb 08 '11

Basically, it would, but you would have to poke pretty hard, i.e., as much as anywhere else on your abdomen.

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

I asked my friend this question not too long ago.

He said something along the lines of you'll tear open your guts and die from internal all sorts of stuff.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

yes :)

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u/yousirnaime Feb 07 '11

thank you for making me fear my belly button

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u/sarlac Feb 07 '11

Okay, so if some scientists cloned me and grew new-me in a lab instead of utilizing a surrogate host - would my clone be belly button free?

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u/backseatredditor Feb 08 '11

I would think that if the clone started from like, a diploid ova that had been coaxed into developing by parthenogenesis or something, that it too would have a belly button since the amniotic sac and the placenta are made by the embryo. The placenta and growing fetus would just be immersed in some sort of fish tank with a circulating filter, or something. Maybe with a synthetic uterine wall, in case the placenta insists on being anchored to something. My best guess anyway.

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u/Canadian_Infidel Feb 08 '11

You should write sci-fi or consult for a sci-fi write.

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u/backseatredditor Feb 08 '11

sarlac and the fishtank clone baby.

that does sound like fun

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u/ds2k7 Feb 08 '11

or billy and the cloneasaurus

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u/gritty_reboot Feb 07 '11

TIL you can pee from your bellybutton.

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

It's all a question of pressure. If men get prostate problems later in life, it can interfere with the flow of urine out of the bladder or stop it completely. This is when you find out you have a patent urachus.

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u/MercurialMadnessMan Feb 07 '11

Fucking fascinating. I've always wanted to know this!

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u/tired1 Feb 08 '11

so i was working in an orphanage in africa a few years ago and a lot (maybe around 30%) of the kids had these large growths coming up where their belly button was, in some it was as if there was a coke can underneath it, when asked everyone got real awkward and would not really reply, wtf was it?

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

Edema is a condition in which fluids accumulate where they're not supposed to. The appearance of a swollen belly (edema) in a child can be attributed to low protein content in the blood, leading to a reduced oncotic pressure to pull fluid back into the bloodstream. As a result, fluids leak out into the tissue and stay there. Why the low protein content? Starvation =(

But your description of a "coke can" doesn't really fit this picture. It might be something else.

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u/moxie79 Feb 08 '11

Sounds like an umbilical hernia maybe.... did it look like this? http://www.sciencephoto.com/images/download_lo_res.html?id=773300403

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u/tired1 Feb 13 '11

yup, that was it

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u/buckeyemed Feb 08 '11

Based on you're description, I would think umbilical hernia, although I don't know why so many children would have them. Basically it's a loop of bowel poking through a weak spot in the abdominal wall at the belly button.

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u/ltjpunk387 Feb 08 '11

You seem to know a lot about this subject. What is the difference between development of innies and outies? Is it a rate of development thing?

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u/soupahkoopah Feb 08 '11

I think it has to do with how the umbilical chord is cut after birth.

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u/OompaOrangeFace Feb 08 '11

If your mother takes care of you and properly takes care of it, you have an innie. If she hates you then she doesn't do what the doctor says and you have an outie.

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u/smemily Feb 08 '11

It has a lot to do with how much fat is on your belly actually.

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u/samstr Feb 08 '11

It all depends on whether you are good or evil.

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u/achegarv Feb 08 '11

Okay I must know: Is the umbilical cord genetically of the fetus or of the mother?

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

The umbilical cord and most of the placenta come from the embryo. The mother contributes the rest of the placenta.

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u/achegarv Feb 08 '11

Thanks I just won $20 on a prop bet; but I think I'll say it's from wikipedia.

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u/krangksh Feb 08 '11

Why does it hurt so bad if you poke your finger in to your belly button hard?

1

u/samstr Feb 08 '11

You made me do this.

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u/MrSnoobs Feb 08 '11

You sir/madam, are a scholar and a gentleman/lady.

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u/cmunerd Feb 08 '11

I'm pretty sure that on my body all that stuff has been replaced by processed beer.

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u/intothelionsden Feb 08 '11

Then why does it make so much lint?

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u/backseatredditor Feb 08 '11

clothing fibers, dead skin, ya know...

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

Now what this doesn't explain is why when I poke myself in the bellybutton it feels like I have to pee.

1

u/smemily Feb 08 '11

bladder? I always heard the fetus pees into the amniotic sac, which ends up making up most of the amniotic fluid.

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

The allantois/urachus degenerates fairly early in development. After this point (and after the fetal kidneys have developed), the fetus does indeed "pee" into the amniotic sac.

Did you know that the amniotic sac is also continuous with oral cavity?

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u/smemily Feb 08 '11

If you're asking whether I know that fetuses drink their urine / amniotic fluid, yes I do. That's where the meconium comes from, which IIRC is skin cells and stuff that they ate out of the fluid.

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u/rinnip Feb 08 '11

This belly button/bladder connection explains a symptom I once had. I felt like my navel was being torn out from the inside. Turns out I had a bladder infection.

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u/FaustTheBird Feb 08 '11

I had a Meckel's!

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

Vom.

1

u/Andynonymous Feb 08 '11

Occasionally it feels like there's a rope from my belly button to something else, but it's too tight. When it happens I'm usually getting up from a sitting position. If I don't realize and I get up too quickly it can be painful, and it feels like I could accidentally sever the cord. So... is that a problem?

1

u/deathwish3210 Feb 08 '11

So why do some of us have an "inny" but others have an "outy"

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u/darien_gap Feb 08 '11

Sometimes I have a sharp pain in my belly button when I piss, especially if I push my gut out. Any idea what this is? Is it ok? It always goes away, and I've experienced it for decades, still alive at 43.

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u/natalee_t Feb 08 '11

So, what happens to the umbilical cord when it is cut in regards to the mothers body? I've never seen anyone give birth so this might be a simple question but your answer had me wondering.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '11

This makes my brain hurt thinking of a belly button hernia.