Like, only living with one kidney, or is this not possible? Why or why not?
2006-08-30 14:58:12 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Other - Health
yes. lung cancer patients who have cancer in one lung can get that lung removed and live with one lung. the other lung will enlarge some naturally over time to compensate for the lost lung, but normal lung capacity will never be regained unless the patient receives a lung transplant.
some other things you can live without but need to take medication and recieve treatments to compensate for the loss:
sections of your intestines
pancreas
gallbladder
thyroid
and of course, one of your kidneys
you can live without both kidneys too, but you have to recieve dialysis treatments (a machine which takes the wastes out of the blood stream b/c you have no kidney function) for the rest of your life or until you can find a donor kidney, which will enlarge and become bigger than a normal kidney in order to handle all the nitrogenous waste removal your body requires.
two things in your body that are totally useless and serve no purpose whatsoever:
appendix
hyoid bone
both these are said to be evolutionary remanants of structures we once had (maybe even a few hundred years before the first anatomical studies on dead bodies, which began around the 17th century!)
2006-08-30 15:14:38 · answer #1 · answered by miss advice 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Certainly. And you could also live with one kidney. I remember learning in school that when a kidney is removed, the other one grows in size and takes over the function of the one that has been removed.
2006-08-30 22:06:46 · answer #2 · answered by niceguy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is possible to live with only one lung. My uncle had cancer in one of his lungs and it was removed. I think he gets short of breath easier now, but other than that, he's doing well.
2006-08-30 22:03:23 · answer #3 · answered by takako_sempai 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is very possible to live with one lung. I had a cousin born without a lung, and he survied until he was 64
2006-08-30 22:02:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Indeed, but I hope you don't have aspirations for being an olympic swimmer or anything. You do suffer from diminished lung capacity and all that.
2006-08-30 22:06:59 · answer #5 · answered by Oddeye 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure you can, there are thousands of people out there with one lung.
2006-08-30 22:06:59 · answer #6 · answered by tiger 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is practically impossible because you need to both lungs. one for reception of oxygen and the other for sending out the wastes.
2006-08-30 22:10:55 · answer #7 · answered by youngakudo 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
this is possible
2006-08-30 22:03:15 · answer #8 · answered by cwgrlmeiniowa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋