From the outside, the human body may appear relatively symmetrical. However, the left and right sides actually house different internal organs.
Here’s a brief guide to the left side of your body, which contains the following organs:
- the left hemisphere of the brain
- left eye and ear
- lung
- heart
- adrenal gland
- spleen
- kidney
- stomach
- pancreas
- liver
- transverse colon and descending colon
- reproductive organs
Weighing only about
What it does
The left hemisphere controls the ability to form words while the right hemisphere controls abstract reasoning.
However,
Brain and body
Almost all of the signals between the brain and body cross over so that the left side of the brain mainly controls the right side of the body. When brain damage, such as from a stroke, occurs on one side of the brain, the opposite side of the body is affected.
The ears are made of cartilage and have a shell-like shape.
Each ear contains three parts:
- outer ear and ear canal
- middle ear
- inner ear
What it does
The ear is able to sense vibrations in the air and distinguish pitch (how high or low a sound is) and volume (loudness or softness). Pitch refers to the frequency of sound waves while volume refers to the intensity of the sound.
Sound perception
Your cochlea is part of the inner ear. It contains the organ of Corti, which perceives sound using sensory hair cells. They transmit movement as electrical impulses to your brain.
The eyes are about 1 inch — or 2.5 centimeters (cm) — in diameter.
The components of the eye include:
What it does
The eyes process light from the surrounding environment and send that information to the brain through the optic nerve. The optic nerve is located in the back of the eye and is also called the second cranial nerve.
Different parts of the eye help focus light onto the retina.
The retina is made up of rods and cones that help the eye see in different amounts of light. For instance, rods help the eye see in low-light environments.
Cones and rods
The eye contains about
Your left lung has only two lobes while your right lung has three lobes. This asymmetry allows room for your heart on the left.
What it does
The lungs are your breathing apparatus. They take in oxygen and eliminate carbon dioxide. They sit inside of your rib cage.
The lungs are made up of a spongy pink material. They expand and contract as you breathe. The parts of the lungs involved in air intake are:
The lungs themselves don’t have very many pain receptors, so issues with the lungs often come across as symptoms like coughing and shortness of breath.
Self-cleaning lungs
Your lungs have a
Your heart sits in the middle of your chest, to the left. It is a muscular organ at the center of your circulatory system. It provides blood flow to your body and is organized into a left and right chamber.
The average adult heart is about the size of a fist: 5 inches (12 cm) long, 3.5 inches (8-9 cm) wide, and 2.5 inches (6 cm) deep, according to Henry Gray’s 1918 “Anatomy of the Human Body.”
Chest diagram
What it does
The heart pumps blood around your body through a system of blood vessels. The blood delivers oxygen to your brain and the rest of your body and then returns to pick up new oxygen through the lungs.
Your heart has four chambers to do its work:
- two upper chambers called atria, right and left. The right atrium receives oxygen-depleted blood returning from the body (except the lungs). The left atrium receives oxygenated blood returning to the heart from the lungs.
- two lower chambers called ventricles, rightand left. The right ventricle pumps the oxygen-depleted blood out to the lungs. The left ventricle pumps the oxygenated blood to the rest of the body (aside from the lungs).
The circulatory system includes:
- arteries that carry oxygen-rich blood from your heart throughout your body
- capillaries that connect arteries and veins, to exchange nutrients, gases, and waste substances in the blood
- veins that carry oxygen-depleted blood back to the heart
Reading your heart
Your blood pressure measures the efficiency of the heart’s pumping system.
The top number refers to the pressure in your arteries when your heart is pushing blood out of the lower chambers.
The bottom number refers to the pressure in your arteries between pulses when your lower heart relaxes and blood comes into the heart’s lower chambers.
Blood pressure is considered normal when the top number is 120 or less and the bottom number is 80 or less.
You have two adrenal glands, one located on top of each kidney.
What it does
The triangular-shaped adrenal gland is small, but it’s essential in regulating your immune system, metabolism, and other vital functions.
Your pituitary gland, located in your brain, controls your adrenal glands through the release of hormones. The pituitary regulates your endocrine system.
The adrenal gland has two parts. Each produce different hormones:
- The adrenal cortex is the outer part of the adrenal gland. It produces aldosterone and cortisol, both essential for life.
- The adrenal medulla is the inner part of the adrenal gland. It produces hormones that regulate the fight-or-flight response to stress. These include epinephrine (also called adrenaline) and norepinephrine (also called noradrenaline).
Subtle signs from hormones
If a person’s adrenal glands are producing too much or too little of a hormone, the signs of a problem may be subtle. Their blood pressure may be low. Or they can be dizzy or very fatigued.
If symptoms like these worsen, it’s good to check in with a doctor.
The spleen is tucked up against the diaphragm and behind the top ribs on the left. The ribs protect it since it is basically a water balloon with no protective capsule. It’s fist-sized, typically around
What it does
As part of your lymphatic system, the spleen filters your blood. It recycles red blood cells and sends out white blood cells called lymphocytes to help prevent and manage infections.
The spleen also produces substances that help reduce inflammation and promote healing.
The replaceable spleen
You can live without a spleen. If your spleen is damaged and has to be removed, your liver and lymph nodes can take over many of the spleen’s essential functions.
You have two kidneys located below your rib cage. They’re on either side of your spine, in front of your lowest ribs.
The kidneys are bean-shaped and about fist-sized. Your left kidney is typically a little larger than the right one.
What it does
The kidneys filter out wastes and extra fluids from your body into urine. They help keep the salts and minerals in your blood in proper balance.
The kidneys also make hormones that are important in controlling your blood pressure and producing red blood cells.
Your kidneys have an intricate filtering system. Each kidney has about
Each nephron has two parts: a renal corpuscle, which contains the glomerulus, and a tubule. The glomerulus filters your blood. The tubule removes waste products and returns essential substances to your blood.
One kidney can do the work of two. You can lead a normal life if you have only one healthy kidney.
Kidneys in history
The ancient Egyptians were aware of the kidneys, according to a papyrus dating back to between 1500 B.C. and 1300 B.C.
Your stomach is located in the upper, middle-left part of your abdomen. It’s in front of the spleen and below and behind the liver.
What it does
It’s the first stop for processing what you eat. The stomach holds the solid foods and liquids you ingest and begins to break them down.
Gastric acids and enzymes start the digestion process. After
The stomach muscle is lined with ridges called rugae that can expand and allow your stomach to hold more food and liquid.
Protective mucus
Stomach acid has a pH between 1 and 2 and is highly corrosive. The stomach produces a layer of mucus to protect itself.
The pancreas is a gland that sits deep in the abdomen, below and behind the stomach. The top of the pancreas is nestled in the curve of your duodenum, part of your small intestine, on the right.
What it does
Its function is to produce enzymes to help process food in the small intestine. Its enzymes help digest fat, starch, and protein.
Your pancreas also produces insulin and glucagon. These hormones regulate your blood sugar levels. Keeping these levels balanced fuels your body properly.
Hidden symptoms
There are more than 37,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer per year in the United States, according to the National Pancreas Foundation. A sign of this type of cancer is yellowing of the skin without other symptoms.
Most of your liver is on the right side of your body. Only a small lobe of the liver is on the left. It’s located above and in front of your stomach and below the diaphragm.
Your liver is about as large as a football and weighs
What it does
The liver is a very hardworking organ. The liver is involved in:
- regulating metabolic functions
- generating energy
- converting substances
- removing toxins
The liver manages chemical levels in the blood and sends waste products away. It also processes nutrients — either storing, eliminating, or sending them back to the blood.
The liver also plays a role in breaking down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins and storing vitamins and minerals.
Your liver sends bile out into the small intestine, which helps aid the digestion and absorption of fats into the body. Bile is then eliminated in feces. Waste from the blood is sent to the kidneys, where it’s eliminated in your urine.
You can’t live without a liver, but your liver has the ability to regenerate its cells.
The colon is also known as the large intestine. It forms an upside-down U shape over the coiled-up small intestine.
On your right is the ascending colon. On the top is the transverse colon. And on the left of the U is the descending colon.
The descending colon is located on the left side of your large intestine.
What it does
Its function is to store digested food waste until a bowel movement removes it. The descending colon helps turn liquid stool into solids, although this process starts in the transverse colon.
The descending colon empties into the sigmoid colon, which is named for its S shape.
The end of the line
The descending colon is about 3.9 to 5.9 inches (10 to 15 cm) long and about 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) wide, and the entire colon is about 5 feet (1.5 m) long, according to the
Left ovary
One ovary lives on each side of the uterus. Each gland is about the size of an almond.
What it does
During childbearing years, ovulation occurs about once a month and releases an egg from the ovary. This is usually around the middle of the
In the reproduction process, a sperm fertilizes an egg to begin pregnancy.
The ovaries also produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Did you know?
The rate of ovarian cancer diagnosis has been falling over the past 20 years, according to the
Left fallopian tube
The female body has one fallopian tube on each side of the uterus (womb) in the pelvis.
The fallopian tube runs between the ovary and the uterus. It’s also known as a uterine tube.
What it does
Eggs travel from the ovary to the uterus via the fallopian tube. During conception, it’s where the sperm meets the egg and fertilizes it.
Did you know?
Fallopian tubes are named for Gabriel Fallopius (1523–1562), an Italian physician and anatomist who first described the uterine tubes.
Left testis
The testes (also called testicles or gonads) are located outside behind the penis in a sac of skin called the scrotum. The singular of testes is testis.
The testes are oval-shaped. On average, each testis is
What it does
The testes are responsible for producing sperm and the androgen hormone testosterone.
Each testis connects to the body by a thin tube that takes the sperm from the testis through the urethra to be ejected.
Did you know?
The testes are at a temperature that’s about
Your body is a complex living machine with many intricate parts. Important organs are located on your left side, both internally and externally.
Situs inversus: left and right reversal
An estimated
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