Where in the Human Body is the Supermarket "Chicken Tenderloin"? ~The Ultimate Physical Design for Flight~

 High in protein and low in calories, chicken breast and tenderloin are widely consumed as strong allies for muscle training and dieting. But have you ever stopped to wonder exactly where these two cuts of meat are located on a bird’s body, and which human muscles they correspond to?

In fact, hidden within these cuts is an astonishingly rational physical design (mechanics) optimized to clear the grueling mission of taking flight. First, take a look at the comparative illustration below.

1. Main Engine and Sub Engine: Breast Meat and Tenderloin from a Physics Perspective For a bird to fly, it must flap its wings powerfully. However, the power required for the "downstroke" and the "upstroke" of the wings is completely different.

  • Bird's Breast Meat (Pectoralis major): The massive engine for the "Downstroke" Lifting one's own body weight and pushing the air downward against gravity—the downstroke—requires immense force. For this reason, a bird's breast muscle is highly developed, said to account for 15 to 20% of its total body weight. This is the true identity of the large blocks of meat we commonly eat.

  • Bird's Tenderloin (Supracoracoideus): The sub-engine for the "Upstroke" On the other hand, the act of "lifting" the wing back to its original position (the upstroke) simply requires slicing through the air, so it does not demand much strength. The tenderloin is the small muscle nestled quietly deep inside (underneath) the breast meat. Because it doesn't need to generate massive force, it is much smaller than the breast meat and has a tenderer texture.

2. What are the Human Equivalents? The Truth About the Pectoralis Major and Minor So, how does this translate to our human bodies? Look at the right side of the illustration.

  • Breast Meat = Pectoralis Major This is the large, superficial muscle that builds a thick chest. It is used for actions like pulling the arms forcefully inward.

  • Tenderloin = Pectoralis Minor This is a small inner muscle hidden deep beneath the pectoralis major. Its role is to stabilize the shoulder blades and assist with breathing.

Next time you order "sasami" (tenderloin) at a yakitori restaurant, remembering that "Ah, I am currently eating a bird's pectoralis minor" might just add a slight anatomical flavor to your meal. (Note: Strictly speaking anatomically, a bird's tenderloin is the supracoracoideus, but functionally and positionally in this context, it parallels the inner chest muscles).

3. The Genius "Pulley" System Achieved by Avian Evolution And here is the "bug-level brilliance of biological systems" that I most want to convey to the readers of Bakurocho Note today.

Think about it physically. It makes sense that the muscle pulling the arm (wing) "downward" is located on the chest (the bottom side). However, if you want to pull the arm "upward," shouldn't the muscle be attached to the back or shoulders (the top side), just like the human deltoid muscle? The fact is, the tenderloin (supracoracoideus) is located on the "bottom side of the body (chest)," right alongside the breast meat. How does a muscle situated at the bottom manage to lift the wing upward?

Focus on the enlarged view (pulley structure) in the center of the illustration. The bird routes a "tendon (a string-like tissue)" extending from the tenderloin through a hole in the shoulder bones (the triosseal canal), making a U-turn before attaching it to the top side of the wing. In other words, "while keeping the muscle itself at the bottom (chest) of the body, it uses the principle of a pulley to yank the wing upward."

Why go through such a complicated process? It is to concentrate all the heavy muscles (breast meat and tenderloin) at the "base of the body (chest side)." By doing so, it functions like the ballast of a ship, keeping the center of gravity extremely low and stabilizing the bird's posture during flight. If the heavy tenderloin were attached to its back, the bird would lose its balance and flip upside down mid-flight.

Conclusion: The Beauty of Rationality The casual fact that "breast meat is large, and tenderloin is small." Hidden within this everyday observation is an astonishing biological system that hacked the physics problems of "gravity," "air resistance," and "center of gravity control" through millions of years of evolution. While the administrative and business systems created by humans are full of waste and vested interests (bugs), the systems of Mother Nature are pure "blocks of rationality" stripped of all inefficiencies.

Tonight, when you bite into a piece of salad chicken, or when you snack on plum-dressed tenderloin at an izakaya, why not take a moment to marvel at this ultimate physical design?

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