Outer Reaches of the Palindrome Page: 40
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the inner surface becomes anterior, thus forming a right-hand spiral in the right arm and a
left-hand spiral in the left. The lower extremity rotates in the opposite direction, so that
the original inner surface becomes posterior. It is to this developmental twist that the
spirals apparent on the surfaces of human bones are largely due.52
Joints within the human body provide interesting examples of spiral formations. "The condyles
of the lower end of the femur, which enter into the formation of the knee joint, are of a spiral
formation, which permits the longest radius of the condyle to come into action when the knee is
extended, and thus gives security in various positions of the leg ... the spinal column can be
spirally rotated in either direction."53 The very human bodies we wear depend on the spiral for
dexterity and flexibility of movement. Even before the body is a body, spirals are at work, for
"... the spermatozoa of many animals show a spiral flange formed along the cilium, which is
used for boring into the egg."54
The implications of the spiral are astounding. Spirals appear at every level in nature, in
plants, animals- in everything that boasts life. In every living thing that grows and expands.
Spiral formations can be found in the smallest forms of life - in organic atoms that share both
vegetable and animal characteristics, in a large number of the bacilli which grow into threads.55
The list goes on and on:
In plants, spirals are observable from seeds and seed cases and cells, to stems and
flowers, and fruit. In animals, and in man, the spiral may be said to follow the whole
course of the vital development from the spermatozoon to the muscular structure of the
heart; from the umbilical cord or the cochlea of the ear to the form and framework of the
great bones of the body. It may be noted that the cochlea hidden in the ear is one of the
proofs that the bone containing it belongs to a mammal."5640
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McConnell, Michael Constantine. Outer Reaches of the Palindrome, thesis, December 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4407/m1/43/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .