2006-06-20 06:40:46 · 15 answers · asked by cccapling 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Yes. The belly button, or umbilicus is a scar on the abdomen, caused when the umbilical cord is removed from a newborn baby. All placental mammals have a navel. While it is fairly conspicuous in humans, in most mammals it appears only as a thin hairless line.
2006-06-20 06:42:40 · answer #1 · answered by menezes_dean 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every mammal is born with an umbilical cord which attaches the placenta to the baby during gestation. The place where the umbilical cord was attached forms a little scar. The more fat there is on the belly, the more that little place is hidden, resulting in the tunnel we call a bellybutton. "Outies" are bellybuttons that stick out and thus are not concealed by a tunnel, or sometimes are even with the tunnel, like a little plug.
Yes, all mammals have bellybuttons, but in ones where there is little to no abdominal fat to create a tunnel, and the animal walks on all fours so that there is no central crease demarcating the abdomin, the navel is hard to spot, especially when covered in fur. It also is not the characteristic tunnel or nub we are accustomed to, but rather a little barely-noticeable flat spot or scar, if you know where to look.
I have found the spot on puppies and kittens, and it is harder to find on adult animals, but since all mammals once had an umbilical cord that then fell off, there is a faint little area where it once was.
Hope this helps.
To the above reply, animals go through the motions of "breathing" the amniotic fluid, but the oxygen still comes via the mother's blood, i.e. the blood is already oxygenated by the mother's lungs. The baby's lungs get exercise by "breathing" this fluid, and the baby also swallows it, but it neither feeds nor gives oxygen to the developing baby. That is accomplished by the placenta, via the umbilicus.
2006-06-20 14:04:51 · answer #2 · answered by Meg 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes any mammal that forms an umbillical cord with its offspring have a so called belly button. when kittens are born the mother cat eats the umbillical cord and placenta surrounding its offspring. now a belly button is only the place where the umbillical cord was attached the animals abdomen and most human belly buttons are shaped at birth.
2006-06-20 13:56:47 · answer #3 · answered by foxzie006 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All mammals have belly buttons. They are just not nearly as defined as humans are because the animal mother chews them off at birth. If you have a cat or dog, look closely at their underside and you will notice a small scar at their abdomen, that is the belly button.
2006-06-20 13:43:32 · answer #4 · answered by SquirrelBait 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the mammal developed in the womb via an umbilical cord then they will have a belly button.
2006-06-20 14:22:44 · answer #5 · answered by S. Perriwinkle 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have an innie belly button, for what its worth, and so did my dog... on a side note, it was mentioned above that placental mammals received food, nutrients, and oxygen through the umbilical cord... that is incorrect, because mammals breathe the placental fluid.
2006-06-20 13:59:08 · answer #6 · answered by jprinylo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you look close at a dog or a cat then you can see a "belly button" where the umbilical cord was attached. It's more prominent when they're little.
2006-06-20 13:42:55 · answer #7 · answered by korr1121 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you ever handle a newborn kitten, you will notice a little hard knot or scabby thing on their belly..thats their "belly-button".... My old cat who was 14 years old had a hairless "button" on his tummy....right where his flabbiness swayed when he would run.
2006-06-20 13:46:53 · answer #8 · answered by jnt0715 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They all have placentas, so yes, they do have belly buttons. Look on a baby pig sometime and you'll see it.
2006-06-20 13:43:08 · answer #9 · answered by Fat Guy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've dissected several cats, & they all had belly buttons.
2006-06-20 13:43:38 · answer #10 · answered by mrsdebra1966 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋