Navel Navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, colloquially known as the belly button, or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel. The umbilicus is used to visually separate the abdomen into quadrants. The umbilicus is a prominent scar on the abdomen, with its position being relatively consistent among 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
Cultural views on the navel as a paste to the navel as a remedy for stomach aches. During difficulties in delivery, a betel leaf is placed on the woman's navel, which is believed to be under a spell. Laying wormwood on the female navel or spreading a paste of reindeer lichen on the navel were considered by Russian women to make the delivery of a child fast and painless. In the Chinese art of acupuncture, the navel is sometimes referred to as 神阙 ("shénquè", roughly translating to divine imperfection or mark of the ancestors). Often, the navel is used as a moxibustion point. However, the