How much of the human body can one lose and still live?

Question

For literary research, how much of the human body can be surgically removed, including limbs, organs, etc., and still live without life support?

Answer 1

You can lose all arms, legs, eyes, and ears, one lung, one kidney, the appendix, the nose, several feet of intestine, and a few ribs.

The structures that need to be kept intact are the rib cage, heart, diaphragm, one lung, one kidney, the liver, the pancreas, the stomach, the skin, most of the intestines, and of course, the brain.

Of course, a human reduced to this state would be unable to feed themselves, but this does not generally qualify as life support.

Answer 2

Brain, heart, lung, liver, stomach every single organ intact would keep a person alive.
Why are you being so cruel, by the way? :)

Answer 3

The Wizard of Oz had only a head and was doing ok.

Answer 4

I think the Germans wondered the same thing during WWII
It was horrific.