Hidden Heroes: 35 Inspiring Facts About Our Resilient Human Organs 2

26Allergies

Allergies

Having allergies decreases your risk of a brain tumor by nearly 40%.



27. Pushing your thumb into the roof of your mouth gets rid of brain freeze.



28. While undergoing screening for kidney donation to her son, a 64-year-old woman found that she had no spleen despite never undergoing surgical removal. She was diagnosed with a rare birth defect and still was able to donate her kidney.



29. Women get drunk faster than men because the female body produces smaller quantities of an enzyme called 'Alcohol Dehydrogenase' Tthis enzyme is released in the liver and breaks down alcohol.



30. People who work with birds or own many birds can get a disease called "Bird Fancier's Lung." It is triggered by exposure to avian proteins present in the dry dust of droppings or feathers of a variety of birds. This condition can cause shortness of breath, fever, dry cough, chest pain, anorexia, weight loss, fatigue, and progressive pulmonary fibrosis.



31Internal Decapitation

Internal Decapitation

It is possible to become internally decapitated. It happens when the skull separates from the spinal column during severe head injury, but the head is still attached connected by soft tissues. Only 15% of the sufferers survive the trauma and subsequent surgery.



32. Serge Voronoff was a French surgeon who was nicknamed the "monkey gland man." He claimed to be able to rejuvenate his millionaire patients by transplanting them with testicles of executed criminals. He eventually turned to use monkey testicles when supplies ran low. He treated over 500 men were with his procedure.



33. Women receiving radiation to their pelvis can have their ovaries transplanted into their forearm to be retrieved in the future for IVF and maintain their fertility.



34. Since every baby girl is born with up to two million eggs in her ovaries, a woman who is pregnant with a girl is not only carrying her baby but also the beginnings of her grandchild, and her diet and lifestyle can impact the make-up of the eggs in the child’s reproductive system.



35. The reason you need to have a full bladder when you go for an ultrasound is that it moves the bowels from the pelvis and into the abdomen, making it easier to see the ovaries and uterus.