# Human body. Which part can regrow **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354 "2019-08-08T16:07:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/1 "2019-08-08T16:07:54Z")
Is there a list of human body parts that can regrow. For eg. Nails and hair grow continuously after birth. Is there any other part of the body that will regrow or reform after being removed or excised or lost. Will the intestine, a part that grows to 5 times the length from birth to adulthood, regrow if a part of the intestine is cut off either at childhood or after adulthood. Also is the intestine the organ that grows the most in a human body from birth to adulthood (approx 5 times in length) For this question let us discount skin cells which are replaced continuously too. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/2 "2019-08-08T16:10:37Z")
“The liver is the only visceral organ that possesses the capacity to regenerate.” - Wikipedia The body also has non-visceral parts, of course. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/3 "2019-08-08T16:57:55Z")
This Wikipedia article may be of interest: [Regeneration in humans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regeneration_in_humans) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/4 "2019-08-08T17:00:28Z")
Depends on definition - we pop out our existing teeth and grow new ones after a few years. I’ve read something that said some people have been known to grow a third set much later in life? ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/5 "2019-08-08T17:28:27Z")
Fingertip ends have been known to regrow ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/6 "2019-08-08T17:32:29Z")
A lawyer I know had a client who’s finger was cut off as an infant and after the settlement completely regrew. He said it was indistinguishable from her other hand. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/7 "2019-08-08T18:48:31Z")
The neurons do regenerate in your hippocampus and olfactory bulb. Also your taste buds. We are learning more about adult neurogenesis and this may not be a complete list. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/8 "2019-08-08T19:29:36Z")
Need answer fast? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/9 "2019-08-08T20:53:21Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > This Wikipedia article may be of interest: [Regeneration in humans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regeneration_in_humans) I wish I had known about this years ago. I lost the tip of a finger when I was six years old. The nail bed was left intact. From what I’m reading at that link … had the wound been dressed differently – as opposed to being sewn up – the fingertip would’ve have essentially grown back as a normal fingertip (or very close to one). The finger now is fully functional, but is somewhat unsightly if one fixes upon it. Not too bad, and most people who only know me casually aren’t aware of it. Still, it’s interesting to know that it could have been regenerated – I’ve gone over 40 years NOT knowing that. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/10 "2019-08-08T23:58:24Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > A lawyer I know had a client who’s finger was cut off as an infant and after the settlement completely regrew. He said it was indistinguishable from her other hand. Please tell me her name was Lizzie. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/11 "2019-08-09T00:03:20Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Depends on definition - we pop out our existing teeth and grow new ones after a few years. I’ve read something that said some people have been known to grow a third set much later in life? Actually, our ‘baby teeth’ and adult teeth [are formed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_tooth_development) _in utero_. Both kinds are already present at the time of birth, it just takes a while for one set to displace the other in the mouth itself. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/12 "2019-08-09T01:24:41Z")
I lost the middle bit of my little finger when I was eight (it was crushed) A pioneering microsurgeon took out some of the damaged bone, stuck a pin through the rest of it and reconnected the nerves, muscles etc. After the surgery that finger was about a quarter of an inch shorter than the other one. Within a year or two it had grown to the same size. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/13 "2019-08-09T04:28:28Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I wish I had known about this years ago. I lost the tip of a finger when I was six years old. The nail bed was left intact. From what I’m reading at that link … had the wound been dressed differently – as opposed to being sewn up – the fingertip would’ve have essentially grown back as a normal fingertip (or very close to one). > > The finger now is fully functional, but is somewhat unsightly if one fixes upon it. Not too bad, and most people who only know me casually aren’t aware of it. Still, it’s interesting to know that it could have been regenerated – I’ve gone over 40 years NOT knowing that. I think the point of talking about rengeneration of the nail bed is to say a long wound healing time is an option if stitching the wound up would require excisions of important parts of your finger, like nail , nerve, bone,joint. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/14 "2019-08-09T05:35:03Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Actually, our ‘baby teeth’ and adult teeth [are formed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_tooth_development) _in utero_. Both kinds are already present at the time of birth, it just takes a while for one set to displace the other in the mouth itself. Images there are kind of tame, [it looks pretty horrifying](https://dangerousminds.net/comments/x-rays_of_kids_skulls_as_their_baby_teeth_get_pushed_out). ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2019, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/15 "2019-08-09T09:37:11Z")
I dropped a wooden chopping board on my big toe (ouch!) and soon after the nail dropped off. Within a few weeks, the nail grew back. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-body-which-part-can-regrow/838354/16 "2019-08-10T00:54:35Z")
I don’t have a cite, but I have heard of tonsils growing back.