Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb. Here here's a question we know has been keeping you up at night. Do dogs have belly buttons? Of course they do, I mean they do right well. The short answer is yes, dogs and cats have belly buttons. All placental mammals do. Placental mammals are those that give birth to live babies, as opposed to oviparous animals, which lay eggs, and marsupials, whose babies
develop in their mother's pouch. While in the womb. Placental mammals depend on their mothers to deliver nutrition and oxygen and remove waste through the umbilical cord that goes for puppies as well as humans. Each puppy in a litter has its own umbilical cord that connects its mother's placenta to the puppy's stomach. After giving birth, a mama dog will chew through the umbilical cord, leaving a wound where
the puppy and cord were connected. The tiny wound on the pup heals quickly into a small thin line, also known as a navel or belly button, so essentially, belly buttons are just scars. But where are these belly buttons on our four legged friends? You certainly don't notice them like you do on humans. The navel on a dog it's often difficult to locate because of its size and
the fur that quickly grows over it. If you feel compelled to find your dog's belly button, look for it under the fur where the tufts meet around the base of your dog's ribs. Sometimes there will be a noticeable patch of darker fur in the area. And unlike human navels, canine belly buttons are between their nipples, which are located at the base of the rib cage. So yes, dogs and cats have belly buttons, they just look different than human belly buttons. In fact, humans are the ones with
the unusual belly buttons. They're relatively large compared to those of other mammals. The majority of human navels about are concave and are often referred to as innies. A much smaller number of people the remaining ten percent, have oudies that protrude like a lump under the skin, and many people incur actually believe that audies are caused by a doctor's less than stellar umbilical cord cutting skills, but the lumps are totally normal. It's just the way a person's
skin an abdominal wall come together. While the umbilical scars healing. All placental mammals can get them. However, some audies are caused by umbilical hernias. Hernias occur when muscles don't heal properly. Instead of growing together, the muscles leave a hole where tissue or a bit of intestine can poke through. Most of these heal on their own without treatment and don't
cause any pain or other symptoms. But if a puppy or kitten or a human baby has an audie that becomes swollen or painful, take them to a vet or you know, a doctor to get checked out and prevent complications. So dogs and humans have belly buttons for the same reason, but unlike humans, dogs don't have the extra convenience of a built in lint catcher, and their belly buttons aren't really good candidates for piercing either. Today's episode was written
by mix bar with and produced by Tyler clayg. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other catchy topics, visit our home planet, how stuff works dot com and for more podcasts. For my heart radio, visit i heeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows