The scalp

After having taken you on a journey through the cranial nerves, I am going to take you on a ride around the brain, doing a deep dive into the substance of it, and after that, we will run down the entire spine. Just like there are 12 cranial nerves, there are 33 vertebrae—so hold on tight.

- Dr MAZDA TUREL

Let's start with the scalp, an underrated piece of real estate. Five neat layers—Skin, Connective tissue, Aponeurosis, Loose areolar tissue, and Pericranium—work silently to protect the skull and all the important meetings happening inside. Most people ignore it until something grows on it that shouldn't. My greatest regret is that what's supposed to grow on it, doesn’t: hair!

Rani, a sprightly 62-year-old with the energy of a woman half her age and the hairstyle of someone who had been too busy living to care much for grooming, came to see me on a rainy afternoon. She was wearing a bright floral kurta, carrying a cloth bag, and smiling conspiratorially. She leaned forward across my desk, lowering her voice: “Doctor, I have brought you a samosa.” I raised an eyebrow: food bribes are not standard medical practice, and come to think of it, you can’t seduce a Parsi with vegetarian food! She tapped the top of her head. “It’s here.” Parting her hair with two fingers, she revealed a smooth, dome-shaped swelling about the size of a small gulab jamun.