Chapter 4: Anatomy, Biology & Sociology of the Zombies

Get to know your enemy! enough said...

This Chart I found on the web seems fool proof but it has a couple mistakes on it. First core body temp is much lower! that`s why you can`t locate them with thermal technology unless they are feeding at the moment from a fresh corpse in which case you would be locating the body and not the zombie itself.

Another error in this chart is the statement that their primary weapon  are their hands/claws and their mouth secondary. Zombies use their arms only to grab targets, it`s not a weapon. Their only weapon is their mouth and teeth. Stay de hell away from it.

Weak point is in fact the cerebral cortex, you just need to interrupt its functions and you are done, you can shoot, decapitate, blow them with explosives or hit a home run with a baseball bat as long as you damage their cerebral cortex.

Remember Columbus Rule # 2 "Double Tap" Just to be sure, hit them twice!!

Biology of the Zombies

Because of their catatonic state, zombies have been unable to offer any personal testimony to augment scientific research. Therefore, all we know about zombies is based upon empirical evidence. A person infected with the zombie virus is transformed into a single-minded hunting machine, with all changes to bodily functions serving the zombie imperative: locate prey, capture prey and feed. (According to FVZA)

Brain/Nervous System
 

Cross-sections of a normal brain (l) and a zombie brain (r) show the extensive atrophy of zombie brain tissue

Brain: because so little of it is crucial to their survival, zombies can survive an enormous loss of brain tissue. Former FVZA zombie specialist Dr. Waxman Himmelburger tells of encountering a zombie who had lost over 3/4 of his head from a shotgun blast, with no apparent effect. (Based on an old study)

*There is a reason: The cerebral cortex was still intact*

Spine/nervous system: zombies have exhibited the ability to withstand significant trauma to their central nervous system.

Dopamine: the smell of living flesh triggers a large release of this adrenaline-like neurotransmitter into the zombie brain

Sense Organs
"Follow your nose" might be the zombie motto. A zombie's powerful sense of smell compensates for the weakness of their other senses.

1. Sight: due to degradation of their corneas, zombies suffer from severe myopia. In addition, they are colorblind.
   
2. Hearing: zombies go almost def but don`t count on that, only happends on 68% of subjects.
3. Smell: zombies have even more receptor cells than vampires. If the wind is right, zombies can smell humans from as far as several miles away.

Circulatory System
As anybody who ever emptied his gun into an advancing zombie can tell you, zombies just don't bleed to death. Their circulatory adaptations allow them to survive wounds that would kill a human.

• Blood: zombie blood is thick and black, hence the nickname, "zombie oil."
  
• Heart: zombie blood is circulated by skeletal muscles rather than the heart. 

Muscular/Skeletal System and Connective Tissue
Changes here are of good news-bad news variety. Yes, zombies are stiff-limbed and slow, yes they move along at a shuffle rather than a sprint. But they are also very powerful, with a vice-like grip and jaws that can bite through metal.

Muscles/Connective Tissue: zombie muscle fibers become concentrated and take on the consistency of nylon rope. Ligaments and tendons thicken.

Normal jaw (l); Zombie jaw (r); note the larger jawbone and thicker muscle of the zom

Skeletal system: important modifications occur to the zombie jaw. Extra bone is deposited on the lower jaw to form an attachment point for larger chewing muscles. These adaptations enable zombies to bite through skull and bone and get at the pillars of their diet: brains and bone marrow, This is not absolutely true tho, most zombies have normal jaws, but we have seen some modifications in some subjects we don`t know if they are in a mutation state or simply evolving.

Teeth: zombie teeth are not adapted to the powerful forces exerted on them by the jaw. Teeth crack and fall out, and the holes they leave behind leak sludge-like zombie blood. Eventually, all their teeth are gone, and a zombie is forced to chew with its exposed jawbones.

Hair: zombies who live long enough will lose all their hair.

Skin: decay sets in shortly after transformation. The skin turns leathery, then rots away.

Aging and Life Expectancy
The great irony of zombie life is that even as they voraciously feed, they too are being fed upon. A zombie's body is like a big petri dish serving host to everything from bacteria and fungi to maggots and ants. The resulting state of putrefication means, as terrifying as a zombie may be to the eye, it actually commits far worse offenses to the nose.

A long-held, common misconception is that zombies are immortal. In fact, the vast majority of zombies live less than one year and amaximum of seven years. It is possible to determine a zombie's age based on their external appearance; specifically, their level of decomposition, also known as necrotic degradation.

Stages I through III of necrotic degradation

Stage I: the skin is mottled and covered with open sores.

Stage II: the ears and nose are rotting away. Loss of fingers and toes.

Stage III: large areas of exposed skull and bone, loss of limbs. Much of the teeth are gone, and one or both eyes fall out.

Zombie Sociology

On the surface, the words "zombie sociology" seem to be the ultimate oxymoron. It was long thought that zombies were incapable of social interaction beyond determining whether or not the person before them was a zombie. To make matters worse, the catatonic state of zombies meant they weren't able to offer any personal testimony to abet empirical findings. Nevertheless, modern researchers have uncovered a surprisingly complex social order among zombies, an overview of which is presented here (my thanks to Waxman Himmelburger for his assistance).

The Newly Transformed

Newly transformed zombies have little or no acclimation period. They do possess and are able to access memories, but there is none of the nostalgia or pining for the pasT. Memories allow zombies little more than a rough sense of geography. A newly-transformed zombie might try to return to its home, but the trip is motivated by hunger rather than nostalgic yearning. Relatives of newly-transformed zombies often make the mistake of trying to help their diseased loved ones and soon find themselves joining the ranks of the undead.

Zombie, 1954 (Courtesy: Coroner's Office, Macon County, Georgia, )

The Pack

Using their strong sense of smell to lead the way, newly transformed zombies will instinctively gravitate to other zombies. Solitary zombies are very rare. Within days of the onset of a plague, packs made up of dozens of zombies will have formed. It is actually disadvantageous for zombies to pack together. It makes them more conspicuous, as well as making it more difficult for all to get to feed. Zombie researchers believe that the pack fulfills some primal need for community and connection.While hunting, zombies are all business. But in moments of repose, they show evidence of affection. They will cluster together and rest against each other. They show particular warmth to child zombies. Within the pack, zombies will assemble themselves into approximations of family units, with children, parents and grandparents huddling together.  

Pecking Order

There is a pecking order in a zombie pack. A group of stronger, quicker zombies will take the lead in hunting and will eat first. Any zombie who disrupts their feeding will be dealt with viciously. Less powerful zombies seem to accept their fate and try to make the best of it zombies are relatively guileless. All zombies possess a chilling single-mindedness when it comes to hunting. There is no such thing as a cowardly zombie.

Hunting

Zombies show a surprising adaptability when it comes to hunting. Contrary to popular opinion, they are observant, fast learners. A newly transformed zombie may stagger around mindlessly for a few days, but once it joins a pack its learning curve rises sharply. Since they cannot speak, zombies communicate with gestures. A favorite hunting strategy is to have a few pack members drive prey towards an area where many others are hiding.

The cooperation zombies show in hunting generally vanishes when they start feeding. Many zombies receive serious wounds from other zombies during a feeding frenzy. Hungry zombies leave nothing but the bones, which they break open to get to the marrow. Well fed zombies will stick to the nutritious brain and bone marrow, leaving the rest of the viscera for the weaker members of the pack. Only in times when the food supply is plentiful will a zombie share.

Zombies have a very limited range, a zombie is lucky to cover a few miles in 24 hours. Given swath of real estate can only support so many zombies. For this reason, zombie plagues tend to be self regulating. A zombie plague will usually start fast, hit a plateau, then die out quickly as food supply diminishes.


Special Thanx to  FVZA.org