Anatomy of a centaur [Archive] - Wizards Community

Anatomy of a centaur [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
xmcknight
10-21-04, 12:19 AM I was wondering about this. Would you say that the critical organs are in the man's chest or the horse's? Or would the centaur have two sets of critical organs?
Gez
10-21-04, 03:06 AM The simplest is to go with redundant organs.
Tenzhi
10-21-04, 04:19 AM I'd say that the human torso contains an extra heart and lungs, and possibly a rudimentary stomach or gizzard of some sort. I might even say a centaur has a secondary brain to control its lower half much like certain reptiles do. Not that any of that is very likely to come up in game.
ieattrollsforbreakfast
10-21-04, 08:23 AM A difficult question...I would rule most the the centaurs organs would be in the horse section, with backups of some important organs in the human part as well. So its stomach, liver, intestines etc would be in the horse, but it would have two hearts and two sets of lungs.
(Psi)SeveredHead
10-21-04, 09:25 AM I would just "elongate" his organs...
Gez
10-21-04, 10:28 AM Something else you can do: have the whole human torso filled by huge lungs and a large heart, and the space thus "freed" in the equine torso is occupied by bigger digestive system, and fat reserves (like what camels have in their humps), etc. You would get centaurs able to eat and drink a lot, and to endure very long privations.
Myst_the_Moonscout
10-21-04, 05:21 PM I think this thread just blew a part of my brain that I can't pronounce.

I would go with Tenzchi or ieattrollsforbreakfast on this. I think there would be two hearts and maybe some extra intestines or something but the lungs would be in the human torso because the horse-body would be too far for the air to travel. The lungs would be larger though.
Sucineri
10-21-04, 05:25 PM ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch my head.

first I am trying to figure out the anatomy of a centaur then someone mentions some reptiles having a second brain? Ahh!
Melpomene
10-21-04, 05:31 PM The brain seems to be in the human body, at the head, because the eyes are located there.
There is evidence that food enters the human end and leaves by the horse end. The teeth are human rather than equine, so multiple stomaches wouldn't be needed for digestion. I would place the stomache between the tops of the horse section's legs, where they meet the body. Intestines in the rear and back.
A human heart and lung would be too weak to support the large form, but the chest does support a ribcage, which is evidence for the heart being in the human half. Then, due to size limitations, the lungs would then be in the horse section (which also has a ribcage).
Myst_the_Moonscout
10-21-04, 05:40 PM Biology was never meant for DnD.
Hey Sucineri, you know giraffes have two hearts right?
Melpomene
10-21-04, 05:44 PM Biology major and a necromancer... :b: :teach: :b:
obrysii
10-21-04, 07:12 PM Something else you can do: have the whole human torso filled by huge lungs and a large heart, and the space thus "freed" in the equine torso is occupied by bigger digestive system, and fat reserves (like what camels have in their humps), etc.

I agree entirely.
Sucineri
10-21-04, 09:00 PM Myst..wasn't that because of something dealing with not getting lightheaded and passing out because of the long neck or something? :P
obrysii
10-21-04, 10:22 PM Hey Sucineri, you know giraffes have two hearts right?

Um...no they don't.
The_Dark_One
10-21-04, 10:38 PM Actually, there was at least one documented case of an otherwise noraml human born with two hearts (in our own world). So, it does happen.
Iron Chef Vastrox
10-21-04, 10:52 PM Okay, see those human parts? Those are filled with the human organs. They're perfectly normal. So a Centaur can still drop some LAN Halo and be cool. The rest of it, though, it's filled with air. Yeah, that's right, air. Living inside the air is a gnome with a snorkel and a coconut. He totally powers the horse. He's a one-horse-power gnome. He also rocks with Frag 'nades, and helps the human part pwn n00Bs.
Myst_the_Moonscout
10-21-04, 11:29 PM Um...no they don't.
My bad, wrong animal.
Tenzhi
10-22-04, 01:38 AM Okay, see those human parts? Those are filled with the human organs. They're perfectly normal. So a Centaur can still drop some LAN Halo and be cool. The rest of it, though, it's filled with air. Yeah, that's right, air. Living inside the air is a gnome with a snorkel and a coconut. He totally powers the horse. He's a one-horse-power gnome. He also rocks with Frag 'nades, and helps the human part pwn n00Bs.

The worst part of this post is that my only contention with it is that the gnome has a snorkel. Why does he have a snorkel if he's living in air? That's the only part that didn't make sense to me.
BruteForce
10-22-04, 02:21 AM The worst part of this post is that my only contention with it is that the gnome has a snorkel. Why does he have a snorkel if he's living in air? That's the only part that didn't make sense to me.
Because you can only recycle the air inside the horse part for so long before it's been depleted of all its oxygen and is therefore unbreathable by the gnome.

Duh.

Back on topic...

I know it's hardly a definitive answer, but I remember a passage in one of the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis (I think it was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe, but I'm not sure) wherein a couple of centaurs spent all morning grazing, and one of the kids asked why that was. Someone (Aslan?) explained that a centaur has both a "man-stomach" and a "horse-stomach" that he needs to fill. Hence, they have to eat a lot of grass to fill them up. So based on that, I'd say the redundant organs theory works best. Or the gnome with the snorkel. I can't argue with that kind of logic.
The_Dark_One
10-22-04, 02:37 AM The real question is this; given the pseudo-european nature of most D&D campaigns, where did the coconut come from? They're not exactly native to the region, now are they?

By the way, are centuars omnivorous?
BruteForce
10-22-04, 02:53 AM I know I shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior, but the Power of the Geek (tm) compels me...
The real question is this; given the pseudo-european nature of most D&D campaigns, where did the coconut come from? They're not exactly native to the region, now are they?
Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

By the way, are centuars omnivorous?
The human "feedin' end" suggests that, like humans, they are capable of eating both meats (canine teeth) and plants (molars). However, the equine... "digestin' end" suggests that they don't necessarily process meats and the like all that efficiently. My guess is that they can eat like humans, but generally prefer to eat like horses, since it leads to less digestive problems and they probably derive more nutrition from it anyway.

That may be the geekiest thing I've ever typed. And that's saying a lot.
The Vorpal Tribble
10-22-04, 03:45 AM Ah, c'mon, this ain't geeky, and I find it rather cool myself.

Btw, BruteForce, always love that series!

I'd personally like to go with the human-part being mostly lungs and heart and the lower-half everything else. Now, the main thing would be is that with the human sized mouth they would be eating, CONSTANTLY, cramming as much in their as they could, physically having to eat as much as a horse and human put together. They would certainly be omnivores, with high emphasis on getting a mostly green diet. They would also have to drink... and I mean drink ALOT! Human healthy is a gallon a day. Horse healthy would be several times that. This would likewise make it nearly impossible to have a fat centaur.
allenchan
10-22-04, 04:18 AM Ah, c'mon, this ain't geeky, and I find it rather cool myself.

Btw, BruteForce, always love that series!

I'd personally like to go with the human-part being mostly lungs and heart and the lower-half everything else. Now, the main thing would be is that with the human sized mouth they would be eating, CONSTANTLY, cramming as much in their as they could, physically having to eat as much as a horse and human put together. They would certainly be omnivores, with high emphasis on getting a mostly green diet. They would also have to drink... and I mean drink ALOT! Human healthy is a gallon a day. Horse healthy would be several times that. This would likewise make it nearly impossible to have a fat centaur.

Jeeze, think of the logistical problems this would entail if a Centaur PC was dungeon crawling or something. Quick, somebody give that centaur a ring of substance before he eats the dwarf :eek:
Slagger the Chuul
10-22-04, 07:06 AM The heart and lungs will probably be fairly close, since pumping blood to the lungs is a major function of the heart (spreading blood volume into the lungs greatly reduces the pressure), otherwise there might need to be a heart devoted to the lungs (as is the case with octopus gills). Hearts are relatively easy, since they don't require an external supply; you can stick one in anywhere it fits.

Breathing is going to be the big trouble, since you have to inhale enough air for a comparatively enormous body mass through a human mouth, and draw it into a very large set of lungs. You should definitely be able to hear a centaur breathing. The lungs are going to be pretty large to fit into a human chest cavity along with the necessary heart, especially since those organs fill up a human chest cavity when they're only human-sized.

Digestion can go anywhere, provided it reaches both ends, but I would guess that most of it will happen in the horse part of the body, where it will naturally fall. There wouldn't be much room in the human torso to process all the mass, although it might pass through briefly as a limited digestive process.
xmcknight
10-22-04, 09:49 AM Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

No, they could be carried.

OK, back to the topic at hand.

I think I am going with the gnome idea myself. Just one question about that, where does that snorkle leave to get fresh air from? Do centaurs have blow holes?
Thomar_of_Uointer
10-22-04, 10:14 AM Or we could be serious and say that Centaurs are quasimagical creatures, and their anatomy doesn't have to make sense or follow logic for them to exist. At every point on their humanoid part, they have humanoid anatomy. At every point on their equine part, they have equine anatomy.
BruteForce
10-22-04, 09:52 PM I think I am going with the gnome idea myself. Just one question about that, where does that snorkle leave to get fresh air from? Do centaurs have blow holes?
Having grown up in a fairly horse-heavy area, I can account for one "blowhole"... though the air the gnome might get from that one won't exactly be fresh, if you know what I mean...

Or we could be serious and say that Centaurs are quasimagical creatures, and their anatomy doesn't have to make sense or follow logic for them to exist. At every point on their humanoid part, they have humanoid anatomy. At every point on their equine part, they have equine anatomy.
Which means, since the human part is "grafted" to the horse part's neck, that the human colon connects directly to the equine esophagus. Eew.
The Vorpal Tribble
10-22-04, 10:11 PM :heehee:

:rofl:
Red_Decker
10-22-04, 10:55 PM If you think has been causing migraines now try and figure out the anatomy of a drider.

http://www.geocities.com/customsmiliesbyswordmaster/inthered.txt
Melpomene
10-23-04, 12:52 AM If you think has been causing migraines now try and figure out the anatomy of a drider.

http://www.geocities.com/customsmiliesbyswordmaster/inthered.txt

Driders are easier, they have ganglions and exoskelitons.
Midget_Messiah
10-23-04, 07:26 AM So how do driders work?
Red_Decker
10-23-04, 10:46 AM Elves are mammals and spiders are arachnoids so how do the two interact?

http://www.geocities.com/customsmiliesbyswordmaster/inthered.txt
The Happy Gank
10-23-04, 11:12 AM Elves are mammals and spiders are arachnoids so how do the two interact?

Well, it all started when an elf and a spider fell in love...wait a second, I don't think I want to continue that thought... :D

The easiest explanation is that they interact because DnD is fantasy. In reality, creatures such as centaurs, driders, mermaids, harpies, etc. can't exist.
Mage of Sembia
10-23-04, 11:34 PM People in the medieval ages didn't think about anatomy: desecration of a corpse (dissecting it) was against church code. But I wonder what the Greek philosophers would think about their anatomy....
Tenzhi
10-24-04, 02:59 AM Elves are mammals and spiders are arachnoids so how do the two interact?

Via the intervention of a powerful demon pretending to be a goddess.
R.M.G.C.L.F.
10-24-04, 03:32 AM Or they're internal organs could simply bear little or no resemblance to those of horses or humans, a unique anatomy tailored to their specific needs. Just because it looks similar on the outside, doesn't mean it holds true on the inside.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
xmcknight 10-21-04, 12:19 AM	I was wondering about this. Would you say that the critical organs are in the man's chest or the horse's? Or would the centaur have two sets of critical organs?
Gez 10-21-04, 03:06 AM	The simplest is to go with redundant organs.
Tenzhi 10-21-04, 04:19 AM	I'd say that the human torso contains an extra heart and lungs, and possibly a rudimentary stomach or gizzard of some sort. I might even say a centaur has a secondary brain to control its lower half much like certain reptiles do. Not that any of that is very likely to come up in game.
ieattrollsforbreakfast 10-21-04, 08:23 AM	A difficult question...I would rule most the the centaurs organs would be in the horse section, with backups of some important organs in the human part as well. So its stomach, liver, intestines etc would be in the horse, but it would have two hearts and two sets of lungs.
(Psi)SeveredHead 10-21-04, 09:25 AM	I would just "elongate" his organs...
Gez 10-21-04, 10:28 AM	Something else you can do: have the whole human torso filled by huge lungs and a large heart, and the space thus "freed" in the equine torso is occupied by bigger digestive system, and fat reserves (like what camels have in their humps), etc. You would get centaurs able to eat and drink a lot, and to endure very long privations.
Myst_the_Moonscout 10-21-04, 05:21 PM	I think this thread just blew a part of my brain that I can't pronounce. I would go with Tenzchi or ieattrollsforbreakfast on this. I think there would be two hearts and maybe some extra intestines or something but the lungs would be in the human torso because the horse-body would be too far for the air to travel. The lungs would be larger though.
Sucineri 10-21-04, 05:25 PM	ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch my head. first I am trying to figure out the anatomy of a centaur then someone mentions some reptiles having a second brain? Ahh!
Melpomene 10-21-04, 05:31 PM	The brain seems to be in the human body, at the head, because the eyes are located there. There is evidence that food enters the human end and leaves by the horse end. The teeth are human rather than equine, so multiple stomaches wouldn't be needed for digestion. I would place the stomache between the tops of the horse section's legs, where they meet the body. Intestines in the rear and back. A human heart and lung would be too weak to support the large form, but the chest does support a ribcage, which is evidence for the heart being in the human half. Then, due to size limitations, the lungs would then be in the horse section (which also has a ribcage).
Myst_the_Moonscout 10-21-04, 05:40 PM	Biology was never meant for DnD. Hey Sucineri, you know giraffes have two hearts right?
Melpomene 10-21-04, 05:44 PM	Biology major and a necromancer... :b: :teach: :b:
obrysii 10-21-04, 07:12 PM	Something else you can do: have the whole human torso filled by huge lungs and a large heart, and the space thus "freed" in the equine torso is occupied by bigger digestive system, and fat reserves (like what camels have in their humps), etc. I agree entirely.
Sucineri 10-21-04, 09:00 PM	Myst..wasn't that because of something dealing with not getting lightheaded and passing out because of the long neck or something? :P
obrysii 10-21-04, 10:22 PM	Hey Sucineri, you know giraffes have two hearts right? Um...no they don't.
The_Dark_One 10-21-04, 10:38 PM	Actually, there was at least one documented case of an otherwise noraml human born with two hearts (in our own world). So, it does happen.
Iron Chef Vastrox 10-21-04, 10:52 PM	Okay, see those human parts? Those are filled with the human organs. They're perfectly normal. So a Centaur can still drop some LAN Halo and be cool. The rest of it, though, it's filled with air. Yeah, that's right, air. Living inside the air is a gnome with a snorkel and a coconut. He totally powers the horse. He's a one-horse-power gnome. He also rocks with Frag 'nades, and helps the human part pwn n00Bs.
Myst_the_Moonscout 10-21-04, 11:29 PM	Um...no they don't. My bad, wrong animal.
Tenzhi 10-22-04, 01:38 AM	Okay, see those human parts? Those are filled with the human organs. They're perfectly normal. So a Centaur can still drop some LAN Halo and be cool. The rest of it, though, it's filled with air. Yeah, that's right, air. Living inside the air is a gnome with a snorkel and a coconut. He totally powers the horse. He's a one-horse-power gnome. He also rocks with Frag 'nades, and helps the human part pwn n00Bs. The worst part of this post is that my only contention with it is that the gnome has a snorkel. Why does he have a snorkel if he's living in air? That's the only part that didn't make sense to me.
BruteForce 10-22-04, 02:21 AM	The worst part of this post is that my only contention with it is that the gnome has a snorkel. Why does he have a snorkel if he's living in air? That's the only part that didn't make sense to me. Because you can only recycle the air inside the horse part for so long before it's been depleted of all its oxygen and is therefore unbreathable by the gnome. Duh. Back on topic... I know it's hardly a definitive answer, but I remember a passage in one of the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis (I think it was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe, but I'm not sure) wherein a couple of centaurs spent all morning grazing, and one of the kids asked why that was. Someone (Aslan?) explained that a centaur has both a "man-stomach" and a "horse-stomach" that he needs to fill. Hence, they have to eat a lot of grass to fill them up. So based on that, I'd say the redundant organs theory works best. Or the gnome with the snorkel. I can't argue with that kind of logic.
The_Dark_One 10-22-04, 02:37 AM	The real question is this; given the pseudo-european nature of most D&D campaigns, where did the coconut come from? They're not exactly native to the region, now are they? By the way, are centuars omnivorous?
BruteForce 10-22-04, 02:53 AM	I know I shouldn't encourage this kind of behavior, but the Power of the Geek (tm) compels me... The real question is this; given the pseudo-european nature of most D&D campaigns, where did the coconut come from? They're not exactly native to the region, now are they? Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? By the way, are centuars omnivorous? The human "feedin' end" suggests that, like humans, they are capable of eating both meats (canine teeth) and plants (molars). However, the equine... "digestin' end" suggests that they don't necessarily process meats and the like all that efficiently. My guess is that they can eat like humans, but generally prefer to eat like horses, since it leads to less digestive problems and they probably derive more nutrition from it anyway. That may be the geekiest thing I've ever typed. And that's saying a lot.
The Vorpal Tribble 10-22-04, 03:45 AM	Ah, c'mon, this ain't geeky, and I find it rather cool myself. Btw, BruteForce, always love that series! I'd personally like to go with the human-part being mostly lungs and heart and the lower-half everything else. Now, the main thing would be is that with the human sized mouth they would be eating, CONSTANTLY, cramming as much in their as they could, physically having to eat as much as a horse and human put together. They would certainly be omnivores, with high emphasis on getting a mostly green diet. They would also have to drink... and I mean drink ALOT! Human healthy is a gallon a day. Horse healthy would be several times that. This would likewise make it nearly impossible to have a fat centaur.
allenchan 10-22-04, 04:18 AM	Ah, c'mon, this ain't geeky, and I find it rather cool myself. Btw, BruteForce, always love that series! I'd personally like to go with the human-part being mostly lungs and heart and the lower-half everything else. Now, the main thing would be is that with the human sized mouth they would be eating, CONSTANTLY, cramming as much in their as they could, physically having to eat as much as a horse and human put together. They would certainly be omnivores, with high emphasis on getting a mostly green diet. They would also have to drink... and I mean drink ALOT! Human healthy is a gallon a day. Horse healthy would be several times that. This would likewise make it nearly impossible to have a fat centaur. Jeeze, think of the logistical problems this would entail if a Centaur PC was dungeon crawling or something. Quick, somebody give that centaur a ring of substance before he eats the dwarf :eek:
Slagger the Chuul 10-22-04, 07:06 AM	The heart and lungs will probably be fairly close, since pumping blood to the lungs is a major function of the heart (spreading blood volume into the lungs greatly reduces the pressure), otherwise there might need to be a heart devoted to the lungs (as is the case with octopus gills). Hearts are relatively easy, since they don't require an external supply; you can stick one in anywhere it fits. Breathing is going to be the big trouble, since you have to inhale enough air for a comparatively enormous body mass through a human mouth, and draw it into a very large set of lungs. You should definitely be able to hear a centaur breathing. The lungs are going to be pretty large to fit into a human chest cavity along with the necessary heart, especially since those organs fill up a human chest cavity when they're only human-sized. Digestion can go anywhere, provided it reaches both ends, but I would guess that most of it will happen in the horse part of the body, where it will naturally fall. There wouldn't be much room in the human torso to process all the mass, although it might pass through briefly as a limited digestive process.
xmcknight 10-22-04, 09:49 AM	Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? No, they could be carried. OK, back to the topic at hand. I think I am going with the gnome idea myself. Just one question about that, where does that snorkle leave to get fresh air from? Do centaurs have blow holes?
Thomar_of_Uointer 10-22-04, 10:14 AM	Or we could be serious and say that Centaurs are quasimagical creatures, and their anatomy doesn't have to make sense or follow logic for them to exist. At every point on their humanoid part, they have humanoid anatomy. At every point on their equine part, they have equine anatomy.
BruteForce 10-22-04, 09:52 PM	I think I am going with the gnome idea myself. Just one question about that, where does that snorkle leave to get fresh air from? Do centaurs have blow holes? Having grown up in a fairly horse-heavy area, I can account for one "blowhole"... though the air the gnome might get from that one won't exactly be fresh, if you know what I mean... Or we could be serious and say that Centaurs are quasimagical creatures, and their anatomy doesn't have to make sense or follow logic for them to exist. At every point on their humanoid part, they have humanoid anatomy. At every point on their equine part, they have equine anatomy. Which means, since the human part is "grafted" to the horse part's neck, that the human colon connects directly to the equine esophagus. Eew.
The Vorpal Tribble 10-22-04, 10:11 PM	:heehee: :rofl:
Red_Decker 10-22-04, 10:55 PM	If you think has been causing migraines now try and figure out the anatomy of a drider. http://www.geocities.com/customsmiliesbyswordmaster/inthered.txt
Melpomene 10-23-04, 12:52 AM	If you think has been causing migraines now try and figure out the anatomy of a drider. http://www.geocities.com/customsmiliesbyswordmaster/inthered.txt Driders are easier, they have ganglions and exoskelitons.
Midget_Messiah 10-23-04, 07:26 AM	So how do driders work?
Red_Decker 10-23-04, 10:46 AM	Elves are mammals and spiders are arachnoids so how do the two interact? http://www.geocities.com/customsmiliesbyswordmaster/inthered.txt
The Happy Gank 10-23-04, 11:12 AM	Elves are mammals and spiders are arachnoids so how do the two interact? Well, it all started when an elf and a spider fell in love...wait a second, I don't think I want to continue that thought... :D The easiest explanation is that they interact because DnD is fantasy. In reality, creatures such as centaurs, driders, mermaids, harpies, etc. can't exist.
Mage of Sembia 10-23-04, 11:34 PM	People in the medieval ages didn't think about anatomy: desecration of a corpse (dissecting it) was against church code. But I wonder what the Greek philosophers would think about their anatomy....
Tenzhi 10-24-04, 02:59 AM	Elves are mammals and spiders are arachnoids so how do the two interact? Via the intervention of a powerful demon pretending to be a goddess.
R.M.G.C.L.F. 10-24-04, 03:32 AM	Or they're internal organs could simply bear little or no resemblance to those of horses or humans, a unique anatomy tailored to their specific needs. Just because it looks similar on the outside, doesn't mean it holds true on the inside.