The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, colloquially known as the belly button, or tummy button) is a scar on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel, and it is quite conspicuous in humans.

Structure

The umbilicus is used to visually separate the abdomen into quadrants. The navel is the center of the circle enclosing the spread-eagle figure in Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man drawing. The navel is rarely the focus in contemporary art and literature.

The umbilicus is a prominent mark on the abdomen, with its position being relatively consistent amongst humans. The skin around the waist at the level of the umbilicus is supplied by the tenth thoracic spinal nerve (T10 dermatome). The umbilicus itself typically lies at a vertical level corresponding to the junction between the L3 and L4 vertebrae, with a normal variation among people between the L3 and L5 vertebrae.

Parts of the navel include the "umbilical tip", which is the center of the navel often described as a button shape. The "periumbilical skin" surrounds it. Navels consisting of the umbilical tip protruding past the periumbilical skin have been nicknamed "outies". Outies are often mistaken for umbilical hernias, which is actually a completely different shape with no health concern, unlike an umbilical hernia. The navel (specifically abdominal wall) was considered an umbilical hernia if the protrusion was 5 centimeters or more. The total diameter of an umbilical hernia is usually 10 centimeters.

Belly button (or "bellybutton") is a colloquial term for the navel; as a proper noun, it may refer to:

See also

Boyz in the Sink is a fictional band of VeggieTales characters who first appeared in the 2003 Silly Songs with Larry segment of The Ballad of Little Joe. The band has subsequently appeared in 2007's Moe and the Big Exit and 2012's If I Sang A Silly Song and Robin Good and The Not-So-Merry Men.

Like other recurring themes such as The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, the group is made up of familiar VeggieTales characters performing specific roles. The members of the band are Larry the Cucumber, Mr. Lunt, Junior Asparagus, and Jimmy Gourd. The foursome and their name are parodies of "boy-bands" including Boyz n the Hood and the Backstreet Boys.

Songs

Bellybutton

"Belly Button", their first song, is Lunt's musical lament that he lacks a navel depicted through his visit to a medical clinic. Tim Hodge voices Khalil the Caterpillar, who appears dressed as a physician who informs Lunt that his stem serves the purpose as a belly button. While originally included as the Silly Song for The Ballad of Little Joe, the video was released separately and won the Children's Jury Award for Animated Short Film or Video at the 2004 Chicago International Children's Film Festival. The song has been cited as the favorite silly song of VeggieTales co-creator and voice of Larry Mike Nawrocki and Milwaukee Bucks center Jake Voskuhl.