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Dorylus

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Carlo Emery (25 October 1848, Naples – 11 May 1925) was an Italian entomologist . He is remembered for Emery's rule , which states that insect social parasites are often closely related to their hosts.

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48-409: Cosmaecetes Spinola, 1851 Shuckardia Emery , 1895 Sphecomyrmex Schulz, 1906 Sphegomyrmex Imhoff, 1852 Dorylus , also known as driver ants , safari ants , or siafu , is a large genus of army ants found primarily in central and east Africa , although the range also extends to southern Africa and tropical Asia . The term siafu is a loanword from Swahili , and

96-454: A laceration in the wilds, will use the soldiers to stitch the wound by getting the ants to bite on both sides of the gash, then breaking off the body. This use of ants as makeshift surgical staples creates a seal that can hold for days at a time, and the procedure can be repeated, if necessary, allowing natural healing to commence. All Dorylus species are blind, and, like most varieties of ants, communicate primarily through pheromones . In

144-500: A diet consisting of a diversity of arthropods. Their colonies are enormous compared to other ant species, and can contain over 20 million individuals. As with their American counterparts, workers exhibit caste polymorphism with the soldiers having particularly large heads that power their scissor-like mandibles . They are capable of stinging , but very rarely do so, relying instead on their powerful shearing jaws. A large part of their diet consists of earthworms . Driver ant queens are

192-444: A newborn, it may represent a diaphragmatic hernia . In general, it is indicative of malnutrition . Many gastrointestinal diseases affect the abdominal organs. These include stomach disease , liver disease , pancreatic disease , gallbladder and bile duct disease; intestinal diseases include enteritis , coeliac disease , diverticulitis , and irritable bowel syndrome . Different medical procedures can be used to examine

240-524: Is difficult, however, as their jaws are extremely strong, and one can pull a soldier ant in two without it releasing its hold. Large numbers of ants can kill small or immobilized animals and strip them to husks. Such is the strength of the ant's jaws that, in East Africa, they are used as natural emergency sutures . Various East African indigenous tribal peoples (e.g. the Maasai moran), when suffering from

288-407: Is fixed, they can pull up the pelvis and finally, they can bend the vertebral column sideways and assist in the trunk's rotation. The transverse abdominis muscle is the deepest muscle; therefore, it cannot be touched from the outside. It can greatly affect the body's posture. The internal obliques are also deep and also affect body posture. Both of them are involved in rotation and lateral flexion of

336-435: Is flat and triangular, with its fibers running horizontally. It lies between the internal oblique and the underlying transverse fascia . It originates from the inguinal ligament, costal cartilages 7-12, the iliac crest and thoracolumbar fascia. Inserts into the conjoint tendon, xiphoid process , linea alba and the pubic crest. The rectus abdominis muscles are long and flat. The muscle is crossed by three fibrous bands called

384-460: Is for those unable to move, or when the columns pass through homes, that there is the greatest risk. The presence of a mobile column of safari ants is, conversely, beneficial to certain human communities, such as the Maasai . They perform a pest prevention service in farming communities, consuming the majority of other crop-pests, from insects to large rats . For example, driver ants prey on larvae of

432-417: Is important to properly exercise the abdominal muscles together with the back muscles because when these are weak or overly tight they can suffer painful spasms and injuries . When properly exercised, abdominal muscles contribute to improved posture and balance, reduce the likelihood of back pain episodes, reduce the severity of back pain, protect against injury, help avoid some back surgeries, and help with

480-584: Is one of numerous similar words from regional Bantu languages used by indigenous peoples to describe various species of these ants. Unlike the New World members of the former subfamily Ecitoninae (now Dorylinae ), members of this genus form temporary subterranean bivouacs in underground cavities which they excavate and inhabit - either for a few days or up to three months. Also, unlike some New World army ants, driver ants are not specialized predators of other species of ant, instead being more generalistic with

528-408: Is the muscle that very fit people develop into "six-pack" abs, though there are five vertical sections on each side. The two bottom sections are just above the pubic bone and usually not visible. The rectus abdominals' function is to bend one's back forward (flexion). The main work of the abdominal muscles is to bend the spine forward when contracting concentrically. Social and cultural perceptions of

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576-453: Is to draw three horizontal and two vertical lines. The two vertical or mid-Poupart lines are drawn from the point midway between the anterior superior spine and the pubic symphysis on each side, vertically upward to the costal margin. The right subcostal margin corresponds to the lower limit of the liver , while the right nipple is about half an inch above its upper limit. The abdomen can be divided into quadrants or regions to describe

624-536: The African sugarcane borer , a pest moth in sub-Saharan Africa. The characteristic long columns of ants will fiercely defend themselves against anything that attacks them. Columns are arranged with the smaller ants being flanked by the larger soldier ants. These instinctively take up positions as sentries, and set a perimeter corridor through which the smaller ants can run safely. Their bite is severely painful, each soldier leaving two puncture wounds when removed. Removal

672-538: The Lepidoptera and the Symphyta (sawflies) have fleshy appendages called prolegs on their abdominal segments (as well as their more familiar thoracic legs), which allow them to grip onto the edges of plant leaves as they walk around. In arachnids (spiders, scorpions and relatives), the term "abdomen" is used interchangeably with " opisthosoma " ("hind body"), which is the body section posterior to that bearing

720-563: The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria in Genoa. His Coleoptera are in Rome's Museo Civico di Zoologia . He died at Bologna in 1925. This article about an Italian biologist is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an entomologist is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called

768-727: The University of Bologna as Professor of Zoology, remaining there for thirty-five years until his death. Emery specialised in Hymenoptera , but his early work was on Coleoptera . Prior to 1869, his earliest works were a textbook of general zoology and papers on fishes and molluscs. From 1869 to 1925 he devoted himself almost entirely to the study of ants. Emery published extensively between 1869 and 1926 describing 130 genera and 1057 species mainly in Wytsman's Genera Insectorum series. Emery's collections of Hymenoptera are in

816-422: The belly , tummy , midriff , tucky , or stomach ) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates . The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal cavity . In arthropods , it is the posterior tagma of the body; it follows the thorax or cephalothorax . In humans, the abdomen stretches from the thorax at the thoracic diaphragm to

864-407: The hip . All of their fibers merge towards the midline and surround the rectus abdominis in a sheath before joining up on the opposite side at the linea alba . Strength is gained by the criss-crossing of fibers, such that the external oblique runs downward and forward, the internal oblique upward and forward, and the transverse abdominal horizontally forward. The transverse abdominal muscle

912-414: The linea alba in the abdominal wall. At about its midpoint sits the umbilicus or navel . The rectus abdominis on each side of the linea alba stands out in muscular people. The outline of these muscles is interrupted by three or more transverse depressions indicating the tendinous intersections . There is usually one about the xiphoid process, one at the navel, and one in between. It is the combination of

960-435: The navel . Functionally, the human abdomen is where most of the digestive tract is placed and so most of the absorption and digestion of food occurs here. The alimentary tract in the abdomen consists of the lower esophagus , the stomach , the duodenum , the jejunum , ileum , the cecum and the appendix , the ascending , transverse and descending colons , the sigmoid colon and the rectum . Other vital organs inside

1008-406: The spine and are used to bend and support the spine from the front. The external obliques are more superficial and are also involved in rotation and lateral flexion of the spine. They also stabilize the spine when upright. The rectus abdominis muscle is not the most superficial abdominal muscle. The tendonous sheath extending from the external obliques cover the rectus abdominis. The rectus abdominis

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1056-403: The stomach , the small intestine , and the colon with its attached appendix . Other digestive organs are known as the accessory digestive organs and include the liver , its attached gallbladder , and the pancreas , and these communicate with the rest of the system via various ducts. The spleen , and organs of the urinary system including the kidneys , and adrenal glands also lie within

1104-413: The tendinous intersections . The rectus abdominis is enclosed in a thick sheath, formed as described above, by fibers from each of the three muscles of the lateral abdominal wall. They originate at the pubis bone , run up the abdomen on either side of the linea alba, and insert into the cartilages of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs. In the region of the groin , the inguinal canal , is a passage through

1152-431: The abdomen include the liver , the kidneys , the pancreas and the spleen . The abdominal wall is split into the posterior (back), lateral (sides), and anterior (front) walls. The abdominal muscles have different important functions. They assist as muscles of exhalation in the breathing process during forceful exhalation . Moreover, these muscles serve as protection for the inner organs. Furthermore, together with

1200-419: The abdomen is a large body cavity enclosed by the abdominal muscles, at the front and to the sides, and by part of the vertebral column at the back. Lower ribs can also enclose ventral and lateral walls. The abdominal cavity is continuous with, and above, the pelvic cavity. It is attached to the thoracic cavity by the diaphragm. Structures such as the aorta , inferior vena cava and esophagus pass through

1248-423: The abdomen, along with many blood vessels including the aorta and inferior vena cava . The urinary bladder , uterus , fallopian tubes , and ovaries may be seen as either abdominal organs or as pelvic organs. Finally, the abdomen contains an extensive membrane called the peritoneum . A fold of peritoneum may completely cover certain organs, whereas it may cover only one side of organs that usually lie closer to

1296-412: The abdominal organs. This is associated with a higher risk of heart disease , asthma and type 2 diabetes. Abdominal trauma is an injury to the abdomen and can involve damage to the abdominal organs. There is an associated risk of severe blood loss and infection . Injury to the lower chest can cause injuries to the spleen and liver. A scaphoid abdomen is when the abdomen is sucked inwards. In

1344-407: The abdominal wall. This is called the retroperitoneum , and the kidneys and ureters are known as retroperitoneal organs. There are three layers of muscles in the abdominal wall . They are, from the outside to the inside: external oblique , internal oblique , and transverse abdominal . The first three layers extend between the vertebral column , the lower ribs, the iliac crest and pubis of

1392-407: The back muscles they provide postural support and are important in defining the form. When the glottis is closed and the thorax and pelvis are fixed, they are integral in the cough , urination , defecation , childbirth , vomit , and singing functions. When the pelvis is fixed, they can initiate the movement of the trunk in a forward motion. They also prevent hyperextension . When the thorax

1440-500: The bulbous gaster . The petiole and gaster (abdominal segments 2 and onward) are collectively called the metasoma . Unlike other arthropods, insects possess no legs on the abdomen in adult form, though the Protura do have rudimentary leg-like appendages on the first three abdominal segments, and Archaeognatha possess small, articulated "styli" which are sometimes considered to be rudimentary appendages. Many larval insects including

1488-464: The common honey bee . In the Collembola (springtails), the abdomen has only six segments. The abdomen is sometimes highly modified. In Apocrita (bees, ants and wasps), the first segment of the abdomen is fused to the thorax and is called the propodeum . In ants , the second segment forms the narrow petiole . Some ants have an additional postpetiole segment, and the remaining segments form

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1536-440: The concavity of the ileum. However, the term is in common usage. Abdominal organs can be highly specialized in some mammals. For example, the stomach of ruminants , (a suborder of mammals that includes cattle and sheep ), is divided into four chambers – rumen , reticulum , omasum and abomasum . In arthropods , the abdomen is built up of a series of upper plates known as tergites and lower plates known as sternites ,

1584-432: The diaphragm. Both the abdominal and pelvic cavities are lined by a serous membrane known as the parietal peritoneum . This membrane is continuous with the visceral peritoneum lining the organs. The abdomen in vertebrates contains a number of organs belonging to, for instance, the digestive system , urinary system , and muscular system . The abdominal cavity contains most organs of the digestive system , including

1632-418: The healing of back problems, or after spine surgery. When strengthened, the abdominal muscles provide flexibility as well. The abdominal muscles can be worked by strength and fitness exercises, and through practicing disciplines of general body strength such as Pilates , yoga , tai chi , and jogging . Abdominal obesity is a condition where abdominal fat or visceral fat, has built up excessively between

1680-408: The ilium to the spine of the pubis . These lower limits are marked by visible grooves. Just above the pubic spines on either side are the external abdominal rings, which are openings in the muscular wall of the abdomen through which the spermatic cord emerges in the male, and through which an inguinal hernia may rupture. One method by which the location of the abdominal contents can be appreciated

1728-629: The largest ant morphs and were originally believed to be members of a different species. Males leave the colony soon after hatching but are drawn to the scent trail left by a column of siafu once they reach sexual maturity. When a colony of driver ants encounters a male, they tear his wings off and carry him back to the nest to be mated with a recently hatched queen. As in the majority of ant species, males die shortly afterward. Driver ant queens exhibit polyandry ; young queens from some species with large colony sizes must mate with 10–20 males before they have gathered enough sperm for their reproductive lives. Once

1776-433: The largest living ants known, with the largest measuring between 40 - 63 millimeters (1.5 - 2.4 inches) in total body length depending on their physiological condition. Seasonally, when food supplies become short, they leave the hill and form marching columns of up to 20,000,000 ants, which constitute a considerable threat to humans, though they can be easily avoided as a column can only travel about 20 meters in an hour. It

1824-405: The layers. This gap is where the testes can drop through the wall and where the fibrous cord from the uterus in the female runs. This is also where weakness can form, and cause inguinal hernias . The pyramidalis muscle is small and triangular. It is located in the lower abdomen in front of the rectus abdominis. It originates at the pubic bone and is inserted into the linea alba halfway up to

1872-424: The linea alba and the tendinous intersections which form the abdominal "six-pack" sought after by many people. The upper lateral limit of the abdomen is the subcostal margin (at or near the subcostal plane ) formed by the cartilages of the false ribs (8, 9, 10) joining one another. The lower lateral limit is the anterior crest of the ilium and Poupart's ligament , which runs from the anterior superior spine of

1920-406: The location of an organ or structure. Classically, quadrants are described as the left upper, left lower, right upper, and right lower. Quadrants are also often used in describing the site of an abdominal pain. The abdomen can also be divided into nine regions. These terms stem from "hypo" meaning "below" and "epi" means "above", while "chondron" means "cartilage" (in this case, the cartilage of

1968-546: The mating season, alates (winged drones, queens of driver-ant species do not grow wings) are formed. The drones are larger than the soldiers and the queens are even larger. Driver ants do not perform a nuptial flight, but mate on the ground and the queens go off to establish new colonies. As with most ants , workers and soldiers are sterile females, and so do not reproduce. Male driver ants, sometimes known as "sausage flies" (a term also applied to males of New World dorylines) due to their bloated, sausage-like abdomens , are among

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2016-436: The organs of the gastrointestinal tract. These include endoscopy , colonoscopy , sigmoidoscopy , enteroscopy , oesophagogastroduodenoscopy and virtual colonoscopy . There are also a number of medical imaging techniques that can be used. Surface landmarks are important in the examination of the abdomen . In the mid-line, a slight furrow extends from the xiphoid process above to the pubic symphysis below, representing

2064-440: The outward appearance of the abdomen has varying significance around the world. Depending on the type of society, excess weight can be perceived as an indicator of wealth and prestige due to excess food, or as a sign of poor health due to lack of exercise. In many cultures, bare abdomens are distinctly sexualized and perceived similarly to breast cleavage . Being key elements of spinal support, and contributors to good posture, it

2112-425: The pelvis at the pelvic brim . The pelvic brim stretches from the lumbosacral joint (the intervertebral disc between L5 and S1 ) to the pubic symphysis and is the edge of the pelvic inlet . The space above this inlet and under the thoracic diaphragm is termed the abdominal cavity. The boundary of the abdominal cavity is the abdominal wall in the front and the peritoneal surface at the rear. In vertebrates,

2160-449: The queen is ready, roughly half of the workers in the colony will leave with her to found a new colony. Driver ant queens are the largest ants on Earth and have the greatest egg-laying capacity among insects, laying several million eggs each month. Several species in this genus carry out raids on termitaria , paralyzing or killing termites and carting them back to the nest. Colonies of driver-ant species have only one queen. When she dies,

2208-486: The rib) and "gaster" means stomach. The reversal of "left" and "right" is intentional, because the anatomical designations reflect the patient's own right and left .) The "right iliac fossa" (RIF) is a common site of pain and tenderness in patients who have appendicitis . The fossa is named for the underlying iliac fossa of the hip bone , and thus is somewhat imprecise. Most of the anatomical structures that will produce pain and tenderness in this region are not in fact in

2256-497: The surviving workers may try to join another colony, but in other cases, when two colonies of the same driver-ant species meet, they usually change the marching directions to avoid conflicts. Carlo Emery Early in his career Carlo Emery pursued a course in general medicine, and in 1872 narrowed his interests to ophthalmology. In 1878 he was appointed Professor of Zoology at the University of Cagliari , remaining there for several years until 1881 when he took up an appointment at

2304-415: The whole being held together by a tough yet stretchable membrane. In insects , the abdomen contains the insect's digestive tract and reproductive organs, it consists of eleven segments in most orders of insects though the eleventh segment is absent in the adult of most higher orders. The number of these segments does vary from species to species with the number of segments visible reduced to only seven in

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