In archaeology and anthropology the term excarnation refers to the burial practice adopted by some societies of removing the flesh of the dead, leaving only the bones. This may be done through natural means, involving leaving a body exposed for animals to scavenge, or it may be purposefully undertaken by butchering the corpse by hand. In the middle ages, excarnation was practiced by European cultures as a way of preserving the bones when the deceased was of high status, or had died some distance from home. One notable example of a person who underwent excarnation following death was Christopher Columbus.

Alcohol is absorbed directly through the stomach, and in the process irritates the cells that line the organ. Alcohol also promotes secretion of additional hydrochloric acid in the stomach, eventually causing the nerves to send a message to the brain that the stomach's contents are hurting the body. The brain responds by telling the stomach to expel its contents by vomiting.

Typically, muscular "strength" refers to the ability to exert a force on an external object. By this definition, the jaw muscle is the strongest. The 1992 Guinness Book of Records records the highest bite strength of 4337 N (975 lbf) for 2 seconds. What distinguishes the jaw muscle is not anything special about the muscle itself, but its advantage in working against a much shorter lever arm than other muscles. If "strength" refers to the force exerted by the muscle itself, the strongest muscle of the body is usually said to be the quadriceps femoris or the gluteus maximus. The unexplained statement that "the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body" appears frequently in lists of surprising facts, but it is difficult to find any definition of "strength" that would make this statement true. Note that the tongue consists of sixteen muscles, not one.

Human fingers do not contain any muscles other than the small muscles attached to each hair follicle, which contract to make the hairs stand on end, causing goose bumps. The muscles that move the finger joints are in the palm and forearm. The long tendons that deliver motion from the forearm muscles may be observed to move underneath the skin at the wrist and on the back of the hand.

Despite their location, the valves of the human heart receive no blood supply of their own. Because of this, they also have no defense against bacterial infection, as white blood cells can't enter the tissue.