Hi there! Have you ever wondered if your organs grow as you do? Well, let’s dive into this fascinating topic and find out!
Right from the start, when a baby is just forming, the heart is a big part of its tiny body. Did you know that your heart is usually about the size of your fist? This is true even when you’re a baby! As you grow, your heart grows too, until you reach your late teens or early twenties. After that, it usually stops growing. However, certain conditions, like high blood pressure, can make the heart grow even more.
Your lungs are pretty amazing. They start working right after you’re born. At first, they’re filled with a special fluid, but once you take your first breath, they start doing their job. Your lungs keep growing until you’re in your late teens or early twenties. This is why it’s important to keep them healthy, especially when you’re young.
The liver is another cool organ. It reaches its full size, about 3 pounds, around the same time as your other organs. What’s really interesting is that the liver can regenerate, or grow back, which is why people can donate part of their liver to someone else.
Your brain is like a supercomputer. When you’re born, it’s about 25% of its adult size. By the time you’re 2 years old, it’s already 80% of its full size! The brain keeps growing and developing in different ways until you’re about 25 years old.
Now, let’s talk about some organs that keep growing throughout your life. Your ears and nose continue to grow a little bit as you get older. This is because of the cartilage, which is a flexible tissue that keeps growing. By the time you’re six, your ears are almost fully grown, and the same goes for your nose when you’re a teenager.
There’s a common myth that your eyes don’t grow after you’re born, but that’s not true. They do grow a little and usually stop growing when you’re about 13 years old.
Thanks for exploring this topic with me! If you have more questions about how your body works, feel free to ask. Keep learning and stay curious!
Measure your fist and compare it to your heart’s size. Create a chart showing how your heart grows from infancy to adulthood. Discuss with your classmates how lifestyle choices can affect heart health.
Use a balloon to measure your lung capacity. Blow into the balloon and measure its circumference. Record your results and compare them with your classmates. Discuss how lung capacity changes as you grow and the importance of keeping your lungs healthy.
Create a clay model of the liver and demonstrate how it can regenerate. Use different colors to show the parts that can grow back. Discuss the liver’s functions and why regeneration is important.
Create a timeline of brain development from birth to 25 years old. Include key milestones and discuss how the brain’s growth affects learning and behavior. Share your timeline with the class.
Research how cartilage affects the growth of your ears and nose. Create a presentation or poster explaining why these organs continue to grow throughout life. Include interesting facts and share your findings with the class.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m Craig, and this is Mental Floss on YouTube. Today, I’m going to answer Jen Alexander’s question, “Do your organs grow with you?” Well, Jen, the answer is yes, for the most part. They grow until you’re fully grown, which is usually in your late teens and early twenties. However, it’s hard to generalize since you have almost 80 organs that make up many different organ systems. So, I’m going to explain the development of a few different organs for you today, including the heart, lungs, liver, and brain. Let’s get started!
Right after conception, a fetus’s heart takes up almost all of its midsection. Other than that, your heart is pretty much always around the same size as your fist at that time. Even babies have hearts the size of their tiny fists. Then, it grows with that person. Once they stop growing, their heart stops growing too. There are some conditions that can cause the heart to continue to grow after this point, including high blood pressure and certain heart conditions.
Lungs start functioning after birth. At first, they’re filled with amniotic fluid. Then, the baby takes their first breath, and the lungs begin their job. Lungs continue to grow until people are in their late teens or early twenties. This is why young people smoking is a concern—their lungs may not develop to the extent and size they should.
The liver reaches its full size, of around 3 pounds, at the same time. The liver is capable of regenerating itself, which is why people can donate a piece of their liver to another person.
At birth, the brain is about 25% of the size it will eventually reach, then it starts to grow rapidly. By the time a child is 2 years old, the brain is 80% of its adult size. It also stops growing around the twenties. However, even when it has stopped growing, the brain continues to develop in other ways until around 25 years old.
Putting aside the liver’s ability to regenerate and the brain’s continued development, there are really only two organs that will continue to grow throughout your life: your ears and your nose. Six-year-olds have ears that are 90% fully grown, and that’s also the case for teenagers with their noses. A little elongation continues throughout life due to cartilage growth.
Speaking of organs on our faces, there’s a common misconception that eyes don’t grow at all after birth. In fact, they grow a little but stop when you’re about 13 years old.
Thanks for watching Mental Floss on YouTube! If you have a question of your own that you’d like answered, leave it in the comments, and I will see you next week!
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This version maintains the informative content while removing any inappropriate or informal language.
Organs – Parts of the body that perform specific functions necessary for life. – The human body has many organs, such as the heart and lungs, that work together to keep us alive.
Heart – A muscular organ that pumps blood throughout the body. – The heart beats faster when we exercise to supply more oxygen to our muscles.
Lungs – Organs in the chest that help us breathe by taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. – When we inhale, our lungs fill with air and provide oxygen to our blood.
Liver – A large organ that processes nutrients and detoxifies harmful substances in the body. – The liver helps break down food and stores energy for when we need it.
Brain – The organ in our head that controls thoughts, memory, and other functions of the body. – The brain sends signals to the rest of the body to help us move and react to our surroundings.
Growth – The process of increasing in size and developing physically. – Proper nutrition and exercise are important for the healthy growth of children.
Healthy – Being in a state of good physical and mental condition. – Eating a balanced diet and staying active are important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Cartilage – A flexible tissue that provides support and cushioning in joints. – Cartilage in our knees helps absorb shock when we run or jump.
Eyes – Organs that allow us to see by detecting light and sending signals to the brain. – Our eyes adjust to different levels of light so we can see clearly in various environments.
Pressure – The force exerted by a fluid or gas against a surface, such as blood against the walls of blood vessels. – Blood pressure is an important measure of heart health, indicating how hard the heart is working to pump blood.
