spleen, testicles, in the case of many politicans, brains.

appendix

appendix? Tonsils? Kidney?

Appendix.

Appendix, tonsils, spleen, reproductive systems (ovaries, uterus in women and testicles in men) I'm sure there are more but I can't think of any at the moment.

Humans have many vestigial organs. Including- the appendix, wisdom teeth, male nipples (my favorite), the fifth toe (my 2nd favorite), and many others.

All the organs in the body are essential. But the function of some of them like "Appendix" is not known to us yet. As a matter of fact a person can live without many organs, which are not considered vital.

Just one set to add to the list, . . . wait, I can't spell it, hold on while I look it up . . . be right back . . . Ah here it is; thanks for waiting! The adenoids (enlarged masses of lymphoid tissue at the back of the pharynx that can obstruct the nasal and ear passages; often removed with the tonsils.)

There are some Trolls on Answerbag who are surviving without brains.

You can lose one kidney.

the brain..don't laugh here is living proof!

I think you can survive without your spleen. You can without your gall bladder.

i'd say appendix and the tonsils

Depends on what you consider essential and is this for life to continue? If so the reproductive system is essential. The spleen is very important to the immune system for the first few years of life. Yes you could live without having it but your immune system would suffer. We can do without a gallbladder but then we couldn't eat 2 big macs ,fries and milkshake meals without having unpleasant experiences in the bathroom in a few hours. We can do without most of our kidneys and liver. Tonsils and appendix and adenoids may have a leser function on the immune system. Nipples on guys.....ok to remove. On women????? I think they are essential to life. You could remove all of your extremeties and get by. (ever see the movie Freaks, a guy born without arms or legs could roll a cigarette with his mouth and tongue and he impregnated a woman). (think about that............)

I guess all the ones they surgically remove without replacing such as... spleen, gall bladder, a kidney, appendics (cant remember spelling)

Appendix

1) "non-essential organ: Any part of the body exercising a specific but non-essential function (e.g.,appendix, gallbladder), so that removal of the body part would not result in serious health consequences." Source: http://ctep.cancer.gov/forms/CTCAE_Glossary.pdf. 2) "The statute is silent on non-essential organ transplantation from living donors, i.e. kidney, liver portions, etc…" Source: http://www.okcu.edu/law/academics/pdfs/KyleMurphyPAPER.pdf 3) "In addition, some primary tumors form in organs that are not essential for survival such as the prostate and breast. Even if there are several primary tumors in those organs, the entire organ could be removed without threatening the life of the patient." Source: http://users.umassmed.edu/weihui.guo/Hobbies/Programming/default/Tumor%20metastasis.doc 4) "Hormonal control (glucocorticoids) makes sure that a starving body first breaks down proteins from non-essential organs like skeletal muscle" Source: http://www.whatislife.com/reader2/Metabolism/pathway/nitrogen.html 5) "I Don't Want To Hear About Non-Essential Organs" "The spleen serves a purpose. It filters stuff out of the blood and helps to fight infections. How does your blood get filtered if you don't have a spleen? Your gall bladder also serves a function. It stores the bile that your liver produces until you eat something. Then it shoots the bile in there and aids in digestion. How does that happen if you don't have one? How can these organs be non-essential. I'm not talking appendix here. That thing literally does nothing and is just in the way." "Hey Jerry, nice post. But speaking from recent experience the spleen and gall bladder are non-essential in the sense that if they are removed, you don't die. Seems like a pretty good definition of "essential" to me." Source: http://wheres-luke.blogspot.com/2007/03/i-dont-want-to-hear-about-non-essential.html "Non-essential" only means that you can still live without it, without doing anything to replace the funktion of the organ such as taking insulin or doing dialysis, or being connected to a heart lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass). It does not say anything about your life quality or a possible reduction of your life expectancy. For instance, if you donate one of your kidneys, you could have problems if the remaining kidney were getting ill. 6) "These are the equivalent to the second lung or kidney, the other 4/5 of the liver, the rest of the blood, the eyes, etc. - not life-threatening, but useful to have around in case of accidents. With care they can be surgically removed, to lighten a Freeform or to remove cancerous characters." Source: http://www.rpg.net/larp/anatomy.html 7) "- How much does an appendix weigh? - Only about 2 ounces. - So by itself, that's not very effective for weight loss. What other non-essential organs could be removed, and how much do they weigh? - Dr. R thought about it for a minute and then responded... I'd start with the duplicate organs - take a lung and a kidney, then the spleen, gall bladder, half the pancreas - heck, you could even remove the intestines and colon. Then you really won't have any weight issues again." Source: http://abiselebabka.blogspot.com/2007/01/non-essential-organs.html 8) "So far I have largely considered donation of organs which are non-essential such as second kidneys or lobes of the liver." Source: http://tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/a-market-for-human-organs/ 9) "Safar’s team then separated the dogs into a control group of six animals and a second group of eight that would undergo surgical removal of their spleens, a non-essential organ." Source: http://www.popularmechanics.co.za/content/print_pop.asp?fid=122 10) "In 1685 the Swiss doctor Johann Conrad Brunner (1653–1727) investigated the question of whether the pancreas is essential for life or not. He removed the pancreas from dogs and observed what happened. He determined that the animals initially developed a great thirst and passed a great deal of urine, but that the symptoms then regressed. What he expected to see did not occur. The animals did not die and the pancreas was thus declared a non-essential organ. So what actually happened? Only more than 200 years later could it be proved that the tiniest remnants of pancreas are sufficient to provide the body with an adequate supply of insulin. Brunner’s research was incomplete, as he had left remnants of the organ in the animals, allowing him to reach this fatally flawed conclusion." Source and further information: http://www.ypsomed.com/en/patients/diabetes_information_centre_1/diabetes_mellitus_2/128.html 11) The whole reproductory system is not essential to life either, only to reproduction. If they remove both your adrenal glands, you can still live, however no more than three weeks without medication.

I don't think so...Some would tell you that the appendix is not essential. Regarding this idea, note what the following article has to say. Helpful Bacteria May be Hiding in Your Appendix Your appendix is a small dead-end tube connected to a section of your large intestine. It has long been thought to be a vestigial remnant of some other organ, but there is little evidence for an appendix in our evolutionary ancestors. Few mammals have any appendix at all, and the appendices of those that do bears little resemblance to the human one. Some researchers now believe that the appendix is a “safe house” for commensal bacteria, the symbiotic germs that aid digestion and help protect against disease-causing germs. The appendix is isolated from the rest of the gut, with an opening smaller than a pencil lead. In times of trouble, such as an infection that flushes the system, these commensal bacteria could hide out there, ready to repopulate the gut when the danger is past. Biofilms, colonies of beneficial microbes, form in your large intestine. They aid digestion and protect against infection, while enjoying the protection and nutrition of the human host. Researchers have found biofilms on the epithelial lining of the appendix as well. Sources: New York Times June 17, 2008 The Journal of Theoretical Biology December 21, 2007; 249(4):826-31 Therefore, just because man may not have, as yet, discovered why and organ is essential, does not prove that it does not provide an essential function...VEW

Appendix & Tonsils.