What is the largest organ in the human body?
The skin is the largest organ in the human body. In an adult it covers about 1.5 to 2 square meters and makes up roughly 15 percent of total body weight.
Many people think of organs as things inside the body, like the heart or liver, but an organ is any group of tissues working together for a purpose. The skin qualifies: it has three main layers, the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous fat, and it contains blood vessels, nerves, sweat glands and hair follicles.
Skin protects the body from germs, water loss and ultraviolet light. It helps control temperature by sweating and by widening or narrowing blood vessels. It also makes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight and gives us the sense of touch, pressure, heat and pain.
The largest internal organ
Inside the body, the liver is the largest solid organ, weighing about 1.5 kilograms in an adult. The skin constantly renews itself: the outer layer is replaced roughly every four weeks, and much of household dust is made of shed skin cells.
Did You Know?
The skin on the eyelids is the thinnest on the body, about half a millimeter, while the skin on the soles of the feet can be several millimeters thick.
This answer is general information, not medical advice. For a personal health question, talk to a doctor.