kirchersociety.org

Skulls Unlimited, supplier of all things osteological, sells bacula from a large variety of mammal species. They make an interesting collection.

“The Baculum is a unique bone found in the penis of most mammals. This bone aids in copulation when mates have only a short encounter and need to perform quickly. The Baculum is sometimes referred to a “hillbilly or mountain man toothpick” and can be utilized as a coffee stirrer. The largest Baculum in the mammal kingdom belongs to the walrus, which can reach a length of 30 inches.”

On the subject of bacula, don’t miss this gloss? of a recent paper on the evolution of the penis:

“This paper presents the evolutionary history of the penis as background to its primary focus, which is on the bioengineering of a rigid hydrostat. All of the organisms converge on an exceedingly similar solution. The tensile membrane of the hydrostat consists of alternating layers of collagen fibers, each oriented at 90° to one another. This is the same principle used to give plywood its rigidity, by having fibers oriented to oppose bending along their least extensible axis at every angle. In addition, the fibers in the rest state are crimped, allowing them to stretch during extension, but then become straight and resistent to further extension when the organ is fully inflated.”

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 4th, 2006 at 1:08 am and is filed under anatomy, baculum, penis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.