20 doctors of Reddit share the biggest mysteries about the human body that science still can’t explain

On the r/AskReddit subreddit, u/Immediate_Hair_3393 has posed the question, “Doctors of Reddit, what do we *not* know about the human body?” The discussion illuminates several intriguing aspects of human anatomy and physiology that remain enigmatic or not widely understood.

Some broad topics of medicine seem to just work without us knowing how. One of the most prominent of these topics is anesthesia. Despite its widespread use in modern medicine, exactly how anesthesia induces unconsciousness is not fully understood.

Similarly, the brain remains one of the most mysterious organs. Discussions on Reddit touched upon conditions like traumatic brain injuries and how they can dramatically impact one’s personality. Moreover, another interesting point raised is that people who are born blind cannot develop schizophrenia. This observation implies that something about our visual input is a prerequisite to the condition.

In addition to these neurological mysteries, the Reddit thread underscores that researchers have yet to understand numerous aspects of the human body fully. These discussions highlight the complexity of human biology and the continuous need for scientific exploration to unravel these mysteries.

Furthermore, many initial tests are done on animals, as they are closely related to humans genetically, before risking human test subjects. However, as many have pointed out, even those tests are not always accurate to the population. Medical tests are historically only done on genetically male subjects, even in animals.

Check out 20 responses on Reddit from doctors and other healthcare professionals below:

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'Have you ever had a muscle knot? Well apparently they're undetectable by any test or machine, and medicine hasn't yet figured out what's going on in our bodies when we experience them.' — u/beulahbeulah via Reddit

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'How basically any of medical science works in relation to women and their bodies - almost all the data is based on men, and a lot of it almost exclusively' — u/vegandeath via Reddit

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'Allergies, spefically food allergies . And why do adults develop them after never reacting to them before?' — u/vegandeath via Reddit

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'Not a doctor but I study cell and molecular biology. The immune system is wildly complex and right now feels as though we’re staring down into Mariana’s trench.' — u/mk4jetta514 via Reddit

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. — u/mk4jetta514 via Reddit

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'We haven’t figured out autoimmune diseases (e.g. MS, lupus). We know that for whatever reason something(s) flip a switch in people, but we haven’t fully figured it out yet.' — u/lemonbiatch via Reddit

“And wildly, when pregnant, symptoms seem to simply disappear from some people, like their lives are so different while pregnant & as soon as they give birth the symptoms come back. It’s wild”—u/sthsthsth

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'I have a very niche answer. We don’t know what is supposed to naturally bind to the area that benzodiazepines work at. Benzodiazepines, BZD, are medications like Xanax and Valium. They produce anti-anxiety effects. And they have a very distinct chemical shape to fit into the BZD site in a group of five proteins. But we don’t know what is supposed to go there. Many medications are analogs of naturally binding molecules that we copy and then use to create an effect. The BZD site is for something, we just don’t know what.' — u/Mrzahn via Reddit

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'The Gut Microbiome: While it's well-known that the gut plays a huge role in digestion, researchers are discovering just how much our gut bacteria affect other parts of our health, like mood, immunity, and even brain function.' — u/VictoriaFaith14 via Reddit

10.

“I’m a derm. We don’t know what exactly causes itching, like the molecular pathways for it. That’s why it can be so hard to find a good treatment when a patient comes in for itchy skin.” —u/criduchat1-

11.

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'OBGYN here: we still don’t know exactly what makes labor start. We know all about the mechanics and physiology, but we don’t know what makes the average uterus say it’s 'go time.'' — u/_mcr via Reddit

12.

“Adding on to the OBGYN topic: the placenta is so understudied!” —u/predisposedthinking

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'I have a friend who got covid while pregnant and you could see the areas of the placenta that were built during that time. The vasculature was different, almost thicker, than the rest of the placenta. It's freaking fascinating.' — u/aksunrise via Reddit

13.

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'One of the few ABSOLUTES in medical science is that nobody born blind has ever developed schizophrenia.' — u/beboleche via Reddit

14.

“I had a lecturer at medical school say ‘half of medicine is made up, we just don’t know which half’” —u/aloadofguff

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Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'One I didn't see mentioned: we apparently don't know precisely how our bodies can distinguish gas from poop. We have some ideas, we know there are a ton of nerve endings in the area, but the precise mechanism of our bodies telling our brains 'this is a fart, let loose' isn't really understood. What blows my mind is, it's distinct enough that we even pass gas while asleep. That difference must be wired DEEP!' — u/Gecko99 via Reddit

17.

“I’m a sleep specialist. While we do have some good theories about some of the functions of REM as far as how it affects the brain and health, we still don’t fully understand the purpose of dreaming. Like, why do we dream at all and why do dreams have a narrative instead of random incomprehensible imagery? Unfortunately this is unlikely to even be solved.”—u/3Magic_Beans

18.

Response to what doctors don't understand about human bodies. Text reads, 'Not MD but PhD, right now we are working on the connection between our intestinal microbiome and neuropsychiatric disease and brain aging. For instance, people with inflammatory bowel disease are more likely to develop dementia and experience co-morbid anxiety and depression, but we dont know why.' — u/uncle-chewie via Reddit

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‘Have you ever had a muscle knot?’: 20 doctors on the biggest mysteries about the human body that science still can’t explain

‘Half of medicine is made up, we just don’t know which half.’

Check out 20 responses on Reddit from doctors and other healthcare professionals below:

Anna Good