Learning some interesting facts about that body of yours? Then stick around because you’re about to seriously up your trivial pursuit game. Here are seven less commonly known facts about the body’s internal organs. So let’s get to it! First up on our list, the acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades. Yes, we’re looking at the stomach’s evil side here.
Hydrochloric acid is a type of acid found in the stomach, makes up most of the gastric acid which enables us to break down the protein molecules in our food. Hydrochloric acid is not to be messed up with,however. As well as playing a role in our digestion,it also functions as a strong corrosive which enables it to eat through many types of metal. don,t try this at home.
Now onto our second fact. The human body contains an estimated sixty thousand miles of blood vessels. This means that if your blood vessels were laid end to end, they could stretch around the earth twice with some of them making it onto the third lap. Next stop – the adrenal glands change size throughout life.
Now we all know that we shrink in height as we grow older but did you know that shrinkage is happening inside your body too? The adrenal glands are two small glands that sit on top of your kidneys. They contain two distinct layers – the out eradrenal cortex and the inner adrenal medulla. Between them, these structures produce important hormones. On top of that, the adrenal glands gradually shrink as you get older.
At the seventh month of fetal development,the adrenal glands are a similar size to the kidneys. From the time of birth right up until old age, the glands begin to shrink eventually becoming so small that they can hardly be seen.
Our fourth fact may surprise you. Scientists counted five hundred different liver functions. The liver’s best known function may be as your alcohol detoxification center but its functions stretch far beyond this. In fact, the liver is one of the body’s hardest working, largest and busiest organs. Some perhaps lesser known functions of the liver include bile production, decomposition of red blood cells, storage of excess iron,detoxification of harmful substances and plasma protein production.
And now for fact number five. get a new stomach lining three to four days. The stomach contains a layer of epithelial tissue full of mucosal cells. This is known as a mucosal epithelium lay eror the gastric mucosa. The mucosal cells produce mucus to protect themselves from the harsh hydrochloric acid content in the stomach; however, these cellsundergo continuous damage and have an average lifespan of three to four days. If the rate of destruction to the mucosa exceeds the rate at which it can be replaced, the acidic environment within the stomach can destroy the underlying tissues of the stomach wall.
Onto the next fact – the sixth one – where your left lung is longer but smaller than your right lung. Well, the left and right lungs have a few small but significant differences beginning with their size. Although it is longer, the left lung is actually slightly smaller than the right lung. This is because the human heart is tilted slightly to the left side of the body causing it to push it up against the left lung and crowd it out. The heart fits into a little alcove known as the cardiac notch. Luckily, the left lung likes to snuggle and it doesn’t mind the cramped living conditions. And, now, a slightly gruesome seventh and last fact to round things off.
Heart creates pressure to squirt blood thirty feet. If you have your blood pressure checked, you will notice two different readings – diastolic blood pressure and systolic blood pressure. Diastolic blood pressure shows your blood pressure when your heart is at rest in between heartbeats whereas systolic blood pressure shows your blood pressure when your heart is actively pumping blood around your body. In order to quickly and efficiently pump blood through your body, a lot of pressure is required enough to squirt blood a distance of thirty feet.
Well, it’s a little wonder you can feel your heartbeat so easily.
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