ALL ABOUT YOUR ORGANS
From the heart to the brain, our vital organs work hard to help us survive
WORDS
FRANCES DANIELS
The human body is a busy factory, and organs are the workers keeping it thriving. Like factory workers, each organ serves a function and belongs to a department. Seven in total, these departments can cover everything from digesting lunch to breathing air. There are at least 78 organs in the body, and each contains a collection of tissues. The tissues work like factory machines to help the organ do its job properly,but some organs work harder than others. Only five organs are actually essential for survival: the brain, heart, liver, kidneys and lungs. These are called vital organs as we can’t live without them. However, it’s possible to live with just one lung or one kidney, despite these coming in pairs. Other organs, meanwhile, can be replaced with a medical device that performs the same function. There are even vestigial organs that can be removed without any need for replacement, including the gallbladder and appendix.