The second largest organ in the human body is the liver. It's the largest solid internal organ, weighing in at approximately 3-3.5 pounds. Located beneath the ribs, lungs, and diaphragm, it sits atop the gallbladder, stomach, and intestines.
Understanding Organ Size
Determining the "second largest" organ requires clarification. While skin is often cited as the largest organ due to its surface area, the liver is considerably larger in terms of mass and volume as a single solid organ. Other large organs like the lungs have a larger combined surface area and weight, but they are paired organs.
- Skin: The largest organ by surface area.
- Liver: The second largest organ by mass and the largest solid internal organ.
- Lungs: Large combined surface area and mass, but two separate organs.
- Heart: Another substantial organ, but smaller than the liver.
The referenced article, "Introducing the Liver: Your Body's Second Largest Organ," explicitly states that the liver is the second largest organ. This is corroborated by other sources that emphasize the liver's significant size and weight in comparison to other internal organs. The conflicting information about the skin being the largest organ usually refers to its surface area.
This clarification helps define what "second largest" means in this context: largest internal organ by mass.
