• Question: How long can a human live with the brain outside the body?

    Asked by tszyninja25 to Fiona, Joanna, Michelle, William on 23 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by eggy169.
    • Photo: Fiona Randall

      Fiona Randall answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      We need our brains. When brain surgery is done the brain is left attached and they just move the surface of the skull and stuff to get into the bit they need to operate on.

    • Photo: William Davies

      William Davies answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      Gruesome question! If you were to remove someone’s brain, they would probably die within a few seconds as they wouldn’t be able to breathe, their heart would stop beating and all the blood (and the nurients it contained) would rapidly drain from the body

    • Photo: Joanna Brooks

      Joanna Brooks answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      Hello! I don’t think it is possible for a human to live with the brain outside the body because the brain helps controls everything like breathing and blood flow for example. The brain controls all the vital organs – the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys – so without the brain these organs could not function and the person could not live.

      BTW did you do the quiz to find out what sex your brain is?
      http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sex/add_user.shtml

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