How many cells are in the human body?
At maturity the human body holds roughly 30 trillion cells, alongside about 38 trillion bacteria. The estimate comes from totaling the cell numbers of all the organs and cell types in the body.
Short answers, pulled from the story.
At maturity the human body holds roughly 30 trillion cells, alongside about 38 trillion bacteria. The estimate comes from totaling the cell numbers of all the organs and cell types in the body.
The human body is mostly oxygen at 65 percent of its mass, followed by carbon at 18.5 percent, hydrogen at 9.5 percent, and nitrogen at 3.2 percent. Calcium and phosphorus each make up about 1 to 1.5 percent, with all trace elements below 0.1 percent.
About 60 percent of the adult male body is water, some 42 litres in total. Roughly 23 litres sit inside cells and about 19 litres are extracellular, including around 3.2 litres of blood plasma.
The human body includes the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, integumentary, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, and urinary systems. These systems interact to maintain homeostasis, keeping substances like sugar and oxygen at safe levels in the blood.
The human heart sits in the thoracic cavity between the lungs and slightly to the left, made of two atria and two ventricles. It pumps blood around the body using an electrical signal that begins in the sinoatrial node and passes through the atrioventricular node.
Andreas Vesalius, who lived from 1514 to 1564, pioneered the modern study of human anatomy by dissection and wrote De humani corporis fabrica. Earlier, the 2nd century physician Galen of Pergamum compiled classical anatomical knowledge used throughout the Middle Ages.