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10 organs human can live without it

10 organs human can live without it


Lung

you might be a little short of breath, but living with one lung is perfectly possible. in 1931, rudolph nissen, who operated on Albert einstein, was the first surgeon to successfully remove a patient’s lung.

Kidney

if illness, injury or poison prevents your kidneys from filtering your blood, they need to be removed. you can cope quite well with just one, but if you lose both, you’ll need to use a dialysis machine.

stomach

A gastrecomy – surgery to remove your stomach – can be required to treat cancer or ulcers. A total gastrectomy results in your oesophagus being connected directly to your intestine, which will have a long-term effect on diet and digestion.

gallbladder

sitting just below your liver, the gallbladder stores bile to break down fat in food. Gallstones caused by high cholesterol can require removal of the gallbladder.

intestines

 there are about 7.5m of small and large intestine wrapped up in your abdomen and, if necessary, all of it can come out – though absorbing nutrients afterwards may well prove to be problematic.

eyes

 life can be harder without sight – or eyes – but clearly many people live fulfilling lives without the gift of vision.

testicle

reproductive organs are sometimes removed for medical reasons, typically cancer.

Appendix

is it a vestigial organ  or part of our immune system? the medical jury is still out on that question, but it’s clear that its removal doesn’t cause any problems.

Spleen

your spleen sits just above your stomach, in the left-hand part of your body; it cleans your blood and fights infection. But if illness or injury necessitates its removal, other organs can compensate for its loss

pancreas

this small organ sits just below the stomach, and secretes hormones and digestive enzymes. in some cases of pancreatic cancer the entire organ can be removed, though the patient will require replacement hormones.


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