The Head of an Anthro – Ch 1: Anatomy and Physiology
You can view this and other videos on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FreedomOfForm
Summary
Can we get furries IRL? :3 More seriously, will it become possible for people with species identities other than human to get species-affirming procedures some day?
We understand enough of the biology and technical methods to be comfortable answering “yes, absolutely, some day.” There’s still a lot of work to be done, and we’re doing our part to make it happen within our lifetimes.
We are kicking off a video series that analyzes the head of an anthro (anthropomorphic creature) – how it would work, what it would look like, how it differs from a human’s head, and the methods that would be used during species affirmation procedures.
In this video, we’re focusing on the anatomy and physiology of an anthro wolf’s head. Checking whether we can achieve a satisfactorily species-affirming result. Balancing physiological needs and constraints. Comparing features with quadrupedal animals. And identifying a few key changes needed in the anatomy that will be followed up on in greater detail later in a later video. We believe this video goes a long way to answering the key questions that would have to be answered before detailed wet-lab and preclinical research into species-affirming procedures takes place.
The analysis, including 3D model development, was performed by Lathreas and Zennith. Development of the 3D models involved addressing physiological concerns and constraints, making many design choices along the way, and a large amount of looking at photos and anatomical references. We took inspiration from existing systems in humans and quadrupedal animals, and exercised judgment in whether choices in a given system should more closely follow quadrupeds, or humans, or a mix. It was more work than we expected, but a lot of fun, and we’re excited to be able to share it with you!
One or two followup videos are planned later in 2024, that cover differences between a human’s head and an anthro’s, and the technical methods in consideration. (One or two videos depending on what flows the best).
We are extremely thankful to our community members and supporters on Patreon for helping make this work possible. Huge thanks to UrbanFox and their fox Nora for the videos they provided, and to Articca for putting us in touch with them; and to Hadynpark for several rounds of feedback during video production.
If you would like to learn more, or are curious about joining our community, please check out https://freedomofform.org/. And if you would like to support us on Patreon, our page is at https://www.patreon.com/freedomofform. Thank you for the consideration, and of course, thank you for watching!
References and notes
General refs
IMAIOS. Vet-Anatomy: The Anatomy of Veterinarian Imaging https://www.imaios.com/en/vet-anatomy
Standring, S, 2021. Gray’s Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice, 42nd ed.
Popesko, P, 1977. Atlas of Topographical Anatomy of the Domestic Animals, 2nd ed.
Singh B, 2018. Dyce, Sack and Wensing’s Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy, 5th ed.
FurScience. 2018. “Anthrocon 2018 Study.” https://furscience.com/research-findings/appendix-1-previous-research/ac2018/
Visual sources
Videos of Nora generously provided by UrbanFox, 2023.
Zennith’s profile pic by Ruster, 2018.
Dog skull specimen obtained ethically from animal that died of natural causes.
Exterior anatomy
Melissa Epstein et al, 2002. “Dissection of the Speech Production Mechanism.” UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics. Appendix B.
Gelatt K, Ben-Schlomo G, Gilger B, Hendrix D, Kern T, Plummer C. 2021. Vet Ophthalmology, 6th ed. Chapter 15.
Kampan N et al, 2019. “The malaris muscle concept reconsidered.” https://doi.org/10.5115%2Facb.2019.52.2.134
Zufferey J. 2013. “Is the malaris muscle the anti-aging missing link of the midface?” https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00238-013-0809-4
Patel B, 2016. Eyelid Anatomy. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/834932-overview?form=fpf#a7
LifeLearn Animal Health, 2019. “Puppy Eyes”. https://www.ovchsc.ca/news/puppy-eyes
Bridget Waller et al, 2013. “Paedomorphic Facial Expressions Give Dogs a Selective Advantage.” https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082686
Internal anatomy
Winkley K, et al, 2021. “Immune cell residency in the nasal mucosa may partially explain respiratory disease severity across the age range.” https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95532-3
Nakisa Kia’i; Tushar Bajaj., 2023. “Histology, Respiratory Epithelium.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541061/
Ears
Poddar S., 2021. “Dog Ear Anatomy – The Anatomical Features from the External, Middle, and Internal Ears.” https://anatomylearner.com/dog-ear-anatomy/
Gray’s Anat 42nd ed. P 739-740.
Eyes
Gray’s Anat 42nd ed. P 791-800.
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsal_glands
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrimal_glands
Gray’s Anat 42nd ed. P 783-789.
