Navel - wikipedia Navel `` Belly button '' redirects here. For other uses, see Belly button ( disambiguation ) and Navel ( disambiguation ). Navel The human navel is a raised or hollowed area left after the umbilical cord detaches. Details Precursor Umbilical cord Ductus venosus Artery Umbilical artery Vein Umbilical vein Identifiers Latin Umbilicus MeSH D014472 TA A01. 2.04. 005 FMA 61584 Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) The navel ( clinically known as the umbilicus, colloquially known as the belly button, or tummy button ) is a hollowed or sometimes raised area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel. Contents 1 Structure 2 Clinical significance 2.1 Disorders 2.2 Other disorders 2.3 Surgery 2.4 Safety 3 Society and culture 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading Structure See also : Umbilical vein and Umbilical artery The navel is the centre of the circle in this drawing of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci Abdominal regions are used for example to localize pain. The umbilicus is used to visually separate the abdomen into quadrants. The umbilicus is a prominent mark on the abdomen, with its position being relatively consistent among humans. The skin around the waist at the level of the umbilicus is supplied by the tenth thoracic spinal nerve ( T10 dermatome ). The umbilicus itself typically lies at a vertical level corresponding to the junction between the L3 and L4 vertebrae, with a normal variation among people between the L3 and L5 vertebrae. Parts of the navel include the `` umbilical tip '', which is the center of the navel often described as a button shape. The `` periumbilical skin '' surrounds it. Navels consisting of the umbilical tip protruding past the periumbilical skin have been nicknamed `` outies ''. Outies are often mistaken for umbilical hernias, but are actually a completely different shape with no health concern, unlike an umbilical hernia. The navel ( specifically abdominal wall ) would be considered an umbilical hernia if the protrusion was 5 centimeters or more. The total diameter of an umbilical hernia is usually 10 centimeters. Navels that are concave are nicknamed `` innies ''. While the shape of the human navel may be affected by long term changes to diet and exercise, unexpected change in shape may be the result of ascites. Clinical significance Disorders In addition to change in shape being a possible side effect from ascites and umbilical hernias, the navel can be involved in umbilical sinus or fistula, which in rare cases can lead to menstrual or fecal discharge from the navel. Menstrual discharge from the umbilicus is a rare disorder associated with umbilical endometriosis. Other disorders Omphalitis, an inflammatory condition of the umbilicus in the newborn, usually caused by a bacterial infection. Surgery To minimize scarring, the navel is a recommended site of incision for various surgeries, including transgastric appendicectomy, gall bladder surgery, and the umbilicoplasty procedure itself. Safety Abdominal thrusts is a first aid method of dislodging an object stuck in the throat, and is performed just above the navel. Society and Culture See also : Navel in popular culture The public exposure of the male and female midriff and bare navel has been taboo at times in Western cultures, being considered immodest or indecent. It was banned in some jurisdictions, but community perceptions have changed, and exposure of female midriff and navel is more accepted today. In some societies or contexts, it is both fashionable and common, though not without its critics. While the West was relatively resistant to midriff - baring clothing until the 1980s, it has long been a fashion with Indian women. The Japanese have long had a special regard for the navel. During the early Jomon period in northern Japan, three small balls indicating the breasts and navel were pasted onto flat clay objects to represent the female body. The navel was exaggerated in size, informed by the belief that the navel symbolizes the center where life begins. See also Navel fetishism Omphalos hypothesis Omphaloskepsis Umbilical microbiome References Wikimedia Commons has media related to Navels. Look up umbilicus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Jump up ^ `` Definition of NAVEL ''. www.merriam-webster.com. Jump up ^ `` Why do n't other animals have belly buttons like ours ? ''. Retrieved May 27, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Anatomy & Physiology ''. Openstax college at Connexions. Retrieved November 16, 2013. Jump up ^ Ellis, Harold ( 2006 ). Clinical Anatomy : Applied Anatomy for Students and Junior Doctors. New York : Wiley. ISBN 1 - 4051 - 3804 - 1. Jump up ^ O'Rahilly, Ronan ; Müller, Fabiola ; Carpenter, Stanley ; Swenson, Rand ( 2004 ). `` Abdominal walls ''. Basic Human Anatomy : A Regional Study of Human Structure. Dartmouth Medical School. ^ Jump up to : Meier, Donald E. ; OlaOlorun, David A. ; Omodele, Rachael A. ; Nkor, Sunday K. ; Tarpley, John L. ( 2001 ). `` Incidence of Umbilical Hernia in African Children : Redefinition of ' Normal ' and Reevaluation of Indications for Repair ''. World Journal of Surgery. 25 ( 5 ) : 645 -- 8. doi : 10.1007 / s002680020072. PMID 11369993. Jump up ^ Ceccanti, Silvia, et al. `` Umbilical cord sparing technique for repair of congenital hernia into the cord and small omphalocele. '' Journal of Pediatric Surgery 52.1 ( 2017 ) : 192 - 196. Jump up ^ Herrine, Steven K. `` Ascites ''. The Merck Manuals. Jump up ^ Bagade, Pallavi V ; Guirguis, Mamdouh M ( 2009 ). `` Menstruating from the umbilicus as a rare case of primary umbilical endometriosis : a case report ''. Journal of Medical Case Reports. 3 : 9326. doi : 10.1186 / 1752 - 1947 - 3 - 9326. PMC 2803849. PMID 20062755. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Donna M. ( June 2, 2008 ). `` What 's Wrong With His Belly Button ? ''. Jump up ^ Cunningham, F. Williams Obstetrics : The Newborn ( 24 ed. ). McGraw - Hill. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Fleisher, Gary R. Textbook of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Philadelphia : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006, p. 928. Jump up ^ Kaehler, G. ; Schoenberg, M.B. ; Kienle, P. ; Post, S. ; Magdeburg, R. ( 2013 ). `` Transgastric appendicectomy ''. British Journal of Surgery. 100 ( 7 ) : 911 -- 5. doi : 10.1002 / bjs. 9115. PMID 23575528. Lay summary -- Medical News Today ( April 12, 2013 ). Jump up ^ `` SRMC Surgeon Offers Gallbladder Removal through Belly Button Incision with da Vinci ® System '' ( Press release ). Southeastern Health. December 9, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2015. Jump up ^ Bruekers, Sven E. ; van der Lei, Berend ; Tan, Tik L. ; Luijendijk, Roland W. ; Stevens, Hieronymus P.J.D. ( 2009 ). `` ' Scarless ' Umbilicoplasty ''. Annals of Plastic Surgery. 63 ( 1 ) : 15 -- 20. doi : 10.1097 / SAP. 0b013e3181877b60. PMID 19546666. Jump up ^ MedlinePlus Encyclopedia Abdominal thrusts Jump up ^ `` New code may reveal navel ''. Mohave Daily Miner. 24 March 1985. Retrieved 20 April 2012. Jump up ^ Banerjee, Mukulika & Miller, Daniel ( 2003 ) The Sari. Oxford ; New York : Berg ISBN 1 - 85973 - 732 - 3 Jump up ^ Naumann, Nelly ( 2000 ). `` First Indications of Symbolic Expression ''. Japanese Prehistory : The Material and Spiritual Culture of the Jōmon Period. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 114 -- 5. ISBN 978 - 3 - 447 - 04329 - 8. Further reading Look up navel, bellybutton, innie, or outie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Moreau, Corrie S. ; Hulcr, Jiri ; Latimer, Andrew M. ; Henley, Jessica B. ; Rountree, Nina R. ; Fierer, Noah ; Lucky, Andrea ; Lowman, Margaret D. ; Dunn, Robert R. ( 2012 ). `` A Jungle in There : Bacteria in Belly Buttons are Highly Diverse, but Predictable ''. PLoS ONE. 7 ( 11 ) : e47712. Bibcode : 2012PLoSO... 747712H. doi : 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0047712. PMC 3492386. PMID 23144827. Gabriele, Raimondo ; Conte, Marco ; Egidi, Federico ; Borghese, Mario ( 2005 ). `` Umbilical metastases : current viewpoint ''. World Journal of Surgical Oncology. 3 ( 1 ) : 13. doi : 10.1186 / 1477 - 7819 - 3 - 13. PMC 552325. PMID 15723695. Piskun, Gregory ; Rajpal, Sanjeev ( 1999 ). `` Transumbilical Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Utilizes No Incisions Outside the Umbilicus ''. Journal of Laparoendoscopic & Advanced Surgical Techniques. 9 ( 4 ) : 361 -- 4. doi : 10.1089 / lap. 1999.9. 361. PMID 10488834. Craig, Stefan B. ; Faller, Mary S. ; Puckett, Charles L. ( 2000 ). `` In Search of the Ideal Female Umbilicus ''. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 105 ( 1 ) : 389 -- 92. doi : 10.1097 / 00006534 - 200001000 - 00062. PMID 10627008. `` New meaning to ' navel - gazing ' : Scientists study belly button bacteria ''. Body Odd. NBC News. April 14, 2011. `` Belly Button Biodiversity Project ''. 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Question: what's the point of having a belly button
Answer: the attachment site of the umbilical cord