Exploring Your Largest Organ

You may not really think of the skin as an organ, like the heart and
lungs. To many people, skin seems more like a simple cover to prevent
their insides from falling out. An organ is a somewhat independent
part of the human body that performs a specific function.
Once you know that, you can see that the skin is an organ, because
it performs the following specific functions (in addition to others):

1: Protects your body from infection

2: Serves as a waterproof barrier between you and the outside
world

3: Shields you from the sun’s harmful rays

4: Provides cushioning like a shock absorber that defends you from injury

5: Insulates your body and keeps your temperature right around a cozy 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit
(37 degrees Celsius)

6: Acts as an energy reserve

7: Alerts you to potential harm through your sensations of touch and pain

8: Repairs itself (that’s why cuts heal)

9: Produces vitamin D