7 Organs You Don't Actually Need

Did you know there are 7 organs in your body that you can live without? Most people know about the appendix, but what are the rest? Join Hank Green for a peek into the human body with this fun new episode of SciShow!
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[kangakatt]

The brain: half of me is gone? No, that’s fine, the other half can compensate
Also the brain: oh no a single blood vessel is blocked what shall I ever do :(

[asparagoose]

Politicians have been known to live without hearts, brains or spines.

[yasir]

This sounds like what someone who wants my organs would say

[Xeroxia]

imagine telling the surgeon that you have 1 lung, 3 kidneys, half a brain, no stomach, no gallbladder, no spleen, and 35% of a liver

[thatlittlemonstrosity]

I love how human body can be the most durable thing on earth or frail as heck. One can survive a thunder, gunshots, fall from incredible height, give most of vital organs, be a host of 7 different parasite species and still be living a normal life while other absolutely identical person (maybe even a twin) died because he ate a spoiled grape

[ggbro]

Plenty of people seem to survive everyday without using their brain

[agus.t.d]

Calling gallstones "super painful" is an under statement! I lived with them for about 3 years. At least 3 years that I could feel. I spent many a night in the ER with that pain. Eventually, the ER people wouldn't let me leave. I had put off surgery the entire time because I couldn't afford it (thanks USA!) and now it was too close to infection for me to just live with it any longer. I got 3 tiny scars just like the video shows. I wanted to see the stones but the surgeon wouldn't let me 😕 I called them my alien babies and they'd finally gotten ready to hatch.

[brainybadgers]

1) Brain 0:50
2) Lung 2:18
3) Stomach 3:23
4) Spleen 4:49
5) Liver 5:50
6) Gallbladder 6:45
7) Kidney 8:18

[stewy]

What every university student in the audience heard:
"7 Ways To Pay Off Your Student Debt".

[pastelshadows]

So, an interesting story from middle school revolving around organ donation:

One of my teachers had both of his kidneys fail, don't remember why. It was pretty quickly spread across the school though since he was constantly attending appointments, and everyone in his family was having compatibility tested. But what ended up happening was interesting, in that one of our other teachers found out that he was a compatible donor. So over summer break one of our teachers donated a kidney to another one of our teachers, and several years later they're both going strong.

[Spetsnaz]

My great grandfather lived on half a lung. He was a heavy smoker and his lungs had to pay it's price. He was living on just half a lung and his condition was so worse that the doctors gave up and said he'll live only upto a few months and they were right. He died a few months later. But even in his final days, he never quit smoking and smoked till death.

[marks]

I had an organ. I got rid of it. No problem ever since. The thing didn't even work for years. I just use a piano keyboard now.

[lemmypayet]

I cannot digest the fact that I can live without a stomach

[Rkenton]

Many get along quite well, and live perfectly normal lives without a brain. We even vote for them.

[douglasgriffiths]

I'm without my right ovary and appendix. Both of them were removed when I was 19. The ovary was polycystic, and was causing my appendix to act up as well, so both were removed. I was in considerable pain before my operation. Afterward, back to normal. Left ovary was (and still is) OK. I had my tonsils out too when I was an 8 year old. (Jan Griffiths).

[GhostHyperhex]

The fact that we can live with one lung really takes my breath away

[jjsmith]

Sure, you did the "mind blowing" pun, but totally whiffed on the opportunity to say that the space left from removing one lung gives the other one...


...a little more breathing room.

[Halfaloaf]

I had a whipple procedure where a few organs were taken and others modified. I’m not the same anymore, but THE BRAIN?!?!

I’m amazed, great vid!

[jeffbeezos]

this video combined with the knowledge of the values of internal organs could easily get you on some sort of watch list

[AngelaMk]

One organ you forgot to mention is the heart. My ex lived without one for years.