Human Body

The human body is an amazing structure made up of many fascinating parts and systems. Learn about the human body and how its systems work together.

Learn More / Page 8

The human body is fantastic biological specimen. Learn more about the human body with these revealing and insightful facts.

By DiscoveryHealth.com writers

Vestigial organs are like the contents of your junk drawer: an assortment of objects that once had a purpose or might come in handy. What can these evolutionary mementos tell us?

By Molly Edmonds

It happens more often than you may think. Sometimes a baby is born with organs outside of his or her body and has a slim chance of survival. What causes this?

By Jacob Silverman

Advertisement

Most people's organs follow the same basic layout -- heart on the left, appendix on the right and stomach in the middle. But in about 1 in 10,000 births, organs end up on the opposite side.

By Jacob Silverman

What does your brain really look like? It depends on how it's imaged. Take a look at all the different ways we can view the human brain.

By Sara Cheshire

Does the appendix serve any purpose in the human body? Scientists are divided on the issue -- learn why.

By Amy Hunter

Unfortunately for him, Humpty Dumpty was not blessed with the human skeletal system. Why can your skeleton do what all the king's horses and all the king's men can't?

By Robert Lamb

Advertisement

Everybody's stomach makes noises. Whether you call it growling, grumbling or gurgling, what is that sound and what is it trying to tell us?

By Jessika Toothman

Creatinine is a chemical molecule that is present in the serum (liquid portion) of the blood. The amount of creatinine produced depends on a person's muscle mass. But how is it measured?

By Jill Ferguson

"Don't cross your eyes -- they'll stick that way!" That's something most of us have heard from our mothers at one time or another. Can your eyes really get stuck?

By Marshall Brain

In the movie "WaterWorld," Kevin Costner's character has a mutation that gives him gills behind the ears. Could a mutation allow people to swim in the water just like fish --without having to use any sort of scuba equipment?

By Marshall Brain

Advertisement

Silica packets most likely contain silica gel or some other desiccant -- something that absorbs (collects) and holds water vapor. What would happen if you put that gel in your mouth?

By Katherine Neer

Back away from that speaker, turn down your music, and put down that power tool unless you want the ringing in your ears to be permanent. Sound can hurt you, and that ringing may be the first sign.

By Cristen Conger

What happens to your lunch after you eat it? As you read this, your digestive system is hard at work, taking it on a wild ride through your body.

By Melissa Jeffries

People expel gas by either burping or flatulating. Although it's an embarrassing thing to have happen, it's also a necessity. But what would happen if you just couldn't pass the gas?

By Katherine Neer

Advertisement

Eyebrows add expression to your face, and are often waxed and plucked in the name of beauty. But why do we have them in the first place, and what would happen if they went away?

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Roses are red, violets are blue -- well, bluish. The sky is blue, too. Grass is green. These are things that most of us know for a fact and don't question. But what if you were colorblind? What would you see? Is life one long black-and-white movie?

By Katie Lambert

Despite what people say, the tongue isn't your body's strongest muscle. But you do depend on it for eating, tasting and speaking.

By Sarah Dowdey

Why don't you have two hearts? Here's a hint: It's the same reason why you have one liver, but two eyes. Would a second heart help you live better?

By Josh Clark

Advertisement

Getting shot is not something anybody hopes will happen, but if it does, where is the best place to take a bullet? Find out what the experts think.

By Josh Clark & Francisco Guzman

You touch a hot object and immediately drop it. It happens so quickly you don't even think about it. How does this happen? Your nervous system coordinated everything.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Our list of 16 unusual facts about the human body will both shock and enlighten. Did you know that everyone has a unique tongue print or that we shed skin cells the same way a dog sheds hair?

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

Extra body parts can occur more often than people might think. Doctors call the extra appendages "supernumerary" body parts and these can be found on some famous people in history.

By the Editors of Publications International, Ltd.

Advertisement

Finding out what shape your memory is in should be the first step in trying to improve it. Test your memory to find out if those memory glitches are normal.

By Richard C. Mohs

You can improve your memory by taking several simple steps. You can make the decision to get better at remembering things today! Learn more about sharpening your memory in this article.

By Richard C. Mohs