# Why don't living things rot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158 "2003-08-10T05:32:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jodocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@Jodocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodocus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/1 "2003-08-10T05:32:33Z")
I assume that rotting is caused by bacteria breaking down the cells of dead things, but what keeps the bacteria from breaking down the cells of living things? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/2 "2003-08-10T05:35:45Z")
Living things have immune systems, which eat the bacteria that want to eat us. Sometimes those systems fail, and we gat an infection. Ever seen a gangrenous limb? It could definately be described as rotten. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/3 "2003-08-10T05:37:43Z")
The immune system… and living things can rot as anyone with a pressure ulcer can attest. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/4 "2003-08-10T05:41:43Z")
My first simulpost **friedo** ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/5 "2003-08-10T06:57:59Z")
Hell, I was under the impression that we DO rot. It just takes around 70 years for the average Joe… ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/6 "2003-08-10T07:03:04Z")
Well, yes, we do. However, in MY case, I’m still manufacturing cells faster than entropy can eat them… ---
**Author:** ![adnan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@adnan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adnan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/7 "2003-08-10T07:23:52Z")
there are rotting substances in the body but they are mainly removed through movement processes like phagocytosis, the dead/decaying fragments are engulfed and forced out the body, from things like sweat and spots, through even the grease in your hair. You can call it the immune system but the circulatory system plays a huge role. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/8 "2003-08-10T17:13:44Z")
Yes, it is the immune system that does the phagocytosing and whatnot. The immune system uses the circulatory system to…um…circulate. So they are both important. As such, people with poor circulation are more prone to getting non-healing ulcers. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/9 "2003-08-10T18:20:37Z")
USCDiver has it right- people do most definitely start to rot(it’s called gangrene) when circulation is impaired by something. Some diabetics have problems with that, and so do/did wounded people- that’s why they amputated so many limbs in the 19th century. There was no other way to make sure that the remaining tissue would survive, other than cutting off the known bad stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/10 "2003-08-10T22:51:36Z")
[This](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=npg&cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11694882&dopt=Abstract) might be of interest to you, it discusses a new protein called “Dermcidin” which is excreted in our sweat glands and shows antimicrobial abilities. This is just one of our many defenses. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/11 "2003-08-10T23:56:50Z")
Plus, we lose a lot of cells every day. A lot of those on the insides become white cell food, but our top layer of epidermis dies and drops off and then dessicates and rots. We’re saved by our ability to replace what we lose and to remove what we’ve lost. As for rotting, what happens in leprosy? Is that a process of rotting, or is it different? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/12 "2003-08-11T00:29:42Z")
Also This is somewhat different but along the lines of the OP. In the old days of sailing ships, huge turtles in the Galopogos \ islands would be taken for food. They would be intentionally stored alive so they would not decay. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-living-things-rot/194158/13 "2003-08-11T00:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*As for rotting, what happens in leprosy? Is that a process of rotting, or is it different? \*\* It’s different. The commonly-held belief that body parts decay and fall off due to leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) is a myth. Leprosy causes numb skin lesions. The numbness can make the afflicted person unaware of damage to the skin, which can lead to infection, though. In extreme cases, this can lead to serious problems, which may be where the commonly-held idea of leprosy comes from. Some info: [http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable\_diseases/en/leprosy.htm](http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable_diseases/en/leprosy.htm)