Where on the human body is the acnestis located?

Acnestis (Greek knestis, spinal column) is a historically developed medical term that became known in specialist literature in the middle of the 18th century by the English physician Robert James (1703 to 1776). It is used very rarely today in the 21st century. There is no adequate term for acnestis in the German-speaking world.

Robert James was a doctor and inventor of "James fever powder". In the anatomical description of living creatures, acnestis stands for that part of the back where the two shoulder blades meet in animals. Many mammals cannot reach this area with their extremities when itching, and exhibit a particular scratching behavior (rolling, rubbing against poles or branches etc.).

The Anglo-American language describes acnestis analogously for the human being at the back in the area between the shoulder blades, which cannot be reached with the fingers or only with difficulty. A corresponding definition can also be found in the "Braun-Falco Textbook", an international standard text of dermatology, allergy and human disorders, (2000). "Acnestis itching" leads to a special scratching behavior which is carried out with appropriate scratching utensils, e.g. long brushes.

Robert James additionally published a poem under the name "acnestis". It is about the human itch that one person will never scratch alone.