Without our organs, the human body would not be able to function. There are organs of all shapes and sizes in our bodies. You might be surprised to know that the skin is the largest organ in the body. The skin on our bodies is constantly flaking away as dead cells make way for new cells. In total, a person will shed about 18kg of skin during his or her life!
While the skin is the largest organ, it is not an internal organ. The largest internal organ is actually the small intestine. Its name is misleading, because it is actually much bigger than the large intestine! In a full-grown adult, the large intestine is about 1.5m long, whereas the small intestine is 5 to 6 meters long.
All of that is enclosed nicely in your abdomen. Most of our internal organs can be found in the abdomen where the small and large intestines work. Most people are quite familiar with some of these organs, like the stomach. Although the stomach is often most closely associated with food and eating, it actually plays quite a small role in the digestive process. Your intestines and liver do much more work than the stomach does! The liver performs over 500 jobs in the metabolic system! It produces, disposes, and cleans, all at the same time.
The liver is one of five vital organs; the others include the brain, heart, lungs, and kidneys. Like the liver, the kidneys are important in the waste filtration process. Most humans have two kidneys, but we only need one to live. Dialysis artificially removes waste to help people with kidney failure. However, some people may need a complete kidney transplant if the problem is serious.
Our lungs help us take more than 25,000 breaths a day on average. The diaphragm contracts and relaxes to let our lungs inhale and exhale. Lungs are made up of many tiny tubes. The surface area of these tubes is so big that altogether, the tubes would cover half of a tennis court!
The heart is one of the most important internal organs. Cardiac muscles contract to pump blood out and relax to take blood in. Just like your smooth muscles, your heart does all its work with no help from you! During an average lifetime, the human heart will pump almost 1.5 million barrels of blood. About 5% of your body's blood goes to the heart, 15% to 20% goes to the brain and the nervous system, and 22% goes to the kidneys.
The heart works with a complicated system of veins and arteries. Arteries bring oxygenated blood around the body. Veins carry blood back to the heart. The biggest and most important artery in your heart is called the aorta. The aorta is almost as thick as a garden hose.
The brain is so vital, it is enclosed completely by our skull for protection. The brain is the headquarters of the human body. It comprises the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. It works with other organs in the nervous system to send nerve impulses throughout the body.
The human body has developed tools to protect our vital organs. However, it's still our responsibility to avoid harming them. An unhealthy and imbalanced lifestyle can weaken them. Our organs collaborate to maintain and protect the body. You can collaborate with our body by paying more attention to it.