Body Parts You Can Actually Live Without Quiz

Answer: hair

Hair is made of a protein called keratin. Humans have hair all over their skin except for the soles of the feet, the palms of the hands and the lips. Hair helps to keep you warm, protects your skin and keeps dust and sweat out of your eyes and nose. Your hairs are constantly being shed and new ones grown. You can live without hair as it is not essential for life.

There are some diseases, such as alopecia, which cause people to lose their hair.

Answer: appendix

The appendix is part of your digestive system, but it does not appear to help break down food. For many years, scientists believed that the appendix did not have a purpose. However, it is now believed that it acts as a place to store beneficial (good) bacteria which are needed for a healthy gut. If your appendix becomes infected, it can cause severe pain, nausea and vomiting. This is called appendicitis. If your appendix ruptures (bursts open), it can lead to a very serious infection in the abdomen called peritonitis, which can be deadly.

Appendicitis needs to be treated with a surgery (operation) involving the removal of the appendix, a procedure which is called appendectomy in the USA and appendicectomy in other English-speaking countries. You will not notice any difference after losing your appendix.

Answer: gall bladder

The gall bladder is a small sac which stores the bile made by the liver. Bile is a yellow-green fluid which helps your body break down fats in the foods you eat. If your gall bladder is removed, the bile simply goes straight into the small intestine instead of being stored.

Your gall bladder is roughly the size and shape of a small pear. When it is removed, the operation is called cholecystectomy. After such a surgery, you need to be careful not to eat too much fatty food.

Speaking of the liver, you can't survive without a liver but you can remove up to about 70% of it without any harm as long as the remaining liver tissue is healthy. The liver will then regenerate back to its original size within a few weeks to months.

Answer: spleen

The spleen is part of your body's immune system. It is a small organ, about the size and shape of a fist. Its main job is to filter your blood and remove things such as old blood cells and germs (bacteria and viruses). It also produces antibodies to help fight infections.

It can store up to a cup of blood, ready to release if your body loses a lot of blood suddenly. If your spleen is removed, these jobs can be done by other organs which also belong to the immune system. Removal of the spleen is a surgery called splenectomy.

Answer: stomach

The stomach is a muscular organ which can stretch to change its size and shape, depending on how much food is in your stomach, your size and body shape, and what position your body is in (for example, whether you are sitting, standing or lying down). The main job of the stomach is to break down food to release the nutrients your body needs. The stomach contains acid to kill any harmful germs (bacteria) that might be in the food you eat. It is part of your digestive tract and lies between the oesophagus and the small intestine. It is possible to remove the stomach and join the oesphagus to the small intestine.

While you can live without a stomach, you would have to make a lot of changes to your diet and the way that you eat to make sure you get all the nutrients you need. Removal of the stomach is called gastrectomy.

Answer: uterus

The organ in which a baby grows inside its mother is called the uterus or womb. It isn't essential for the mother's life but it is essential for the baby's. Removal of the uterus is called hysterectomy. After a hysterectomy, a woman is no longer able to have a baby.

Attached to the uterus are two tubes called fallopian tubes or oviducts. At the end of those tubes are two ovaries which contain the egg cells needed to make a baby. The uterus, ovaries and tubes can be removed from the body and the woman can still lead a normal life.

Answer: testis

The testes, also known as testicles, are the organs in the male body that produce the sperm cells needed to make a baby. A man can live without them but their removal will have some minor side effects; for example, loss of muscle, increased tiredness, hot flashes, and weight gain.

One testicle is a testis (singular), two are testes (plural). Surgery to remove a testis or testes is called orchidectomy. This name comes from the Greek word "orkhis", which also gives us the name of the flower we call an orchid. The flower was named after this body part because the roots of the orchid plant look like testes. The body part is called "orkhis" in Greek and "testis" in Latin.

Answer: colon

The large intestine or colon is the last part of the gastrointestinal tube or digestive tract that your food passes through. It is approximately 1.5-1.8 metres (5-6 feet) in length. Its job is to remove and recycle water and salts from your food and process the waste that your body needs to get rid of. If your colon becomes diseased (for example, if you get cancer of the colon), all or part of it can be removed in a surgery called a colectomy. Sometimes this means that the surgeon has to create a new opening on your abdomen where a bag will be attached to catch the waste food. You can live without part or all of your colon but it will have a very big impact on your diet and lifestyle.

Answer: tonsils

Your tonsils are two small lumps of tissue, one on each side, at the back of your throat. They are about the size of an almond. Tonsils are part of your immune system and their job is to trap germs (bacteria and viruses) entering through the mouth or nose. However, sometimes germs can infect the tonsils, causing symptoms such as fever and a very sore throat. This is called tonsillitis. If you keep getting tonsillitis, your doctor may decide they need to be removed. That surgery is called tonsillectomy.

You can live quite happily without your tonsils. Their job can be done by other body parts which belong to the immune system. If you have your tonsils removed, and the surgeon leaves a little of the tissue behind, then your tonsils are sometimes able to grow back.

Answer: adenoids

Adenoids are very similar to tonsils. Adenoids are found at the back of your nose, a bit higher up from your tonsils. If you open your mouth wide, you can see your tonsils in the mirror, but not your adenoids. Although this body part is actually just one mass of tissue, its name is plural - we call them adenoids, not an adenoid. This is because doctors in the past did not realise it was a single mass of tissue because it had lobes.

Like the tonsils, adenoids are about the same size as an almond. They are also part of your immune system and their job is to trap germs (bacteria and viruses) entering through the mouth or nose. If your adenoids get infected, they can block your nose and cause breathing problems and snoring. If they need to be removed, the surgery is called adenoidectomy.

An interesting thing about adenoids is that only children have them. They are at their biggest when you are about 3 to 5 years of age. By the time you are 7 or 8 years old, they begin to shrink. By the time you are a teenager, they are almost gone and when you are an adult, you no longer have adenoids.