Vanessa Heggie
Vanessa Heggie is an Associate Professor in the History of Science and Medicine at the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham, specializing in the period 1800–2000. She has published articles on nursing, public health and medicine in sport and adventure. Her books include A History of British Sports Medicine (2011) and Higher and Colder: A History of Extreme Physiology and Exploration (2019).
Fastest human muscle
The fastest-moving muscle in the human body is the orbicularis oculi. Humans have two of these, one in each eye, and they control the closing action of the eyelids. When the corneal reflex (an involuntary reaction that protects the eye) is triggered – such as by an object touching the eye – the orbicularis oculi snaps the eye shut in less than 100 milliseconds (0.1 second).