Originally published March 16 2014
A liver transplanted from one animal into another will grow or shrink to fit its new host
by David Gutierrez, staff writer
(NaturalNews) The liver is one of the few organs in the human body that is capable of true regeneration, completely growing back without scar tissue even if a large portion of it is surgically removed.
Unlike most other cells, liver cells never lose the memory of how to grow a new organ.
This capacity contributes to another unique characteristic of the liver: It can grow or shrink to match the size of its host's body.
For example, if the liver from a large dog is transplanted into the body of a small dog, the liver will quickly shrink to the appropriate size for its new host's abdomen.
This remarkable ability is partially responsible for the effectiveness of liver transplants; a child can receive a transplant consisting of only a portion of the liver of one of their parents, for example.
The "resizing" ability of the liver has been observed in interspecies transplants as well. Baboon livers transplanted into humans have been observed to swiftly grow to full human liver size.
Sources:
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml