In the case of a spinal break that causes someone to become paralyzed, why would organs and other bodily functions un-affected if the cause is a separation of the brain’s ability to communicate with the body? Does the brain not also subconsciously control breathing, heart beat, etc?
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So, if you get a spine break too high up, you will stop breathing. The nerve that controls the lungs separates from the spinal cord a lot sooner than the rest of the nerves though, meaning it’s possible – if the break is low enough – to have your arms paralyzed but still breathe.
Your heart is neat in that it can actually control itself! Your brain doesn’t need to tell your heart to beat, the heart sends itself its own triggers to keep beating. You can see this effect when someone gets heart surgery, and the removed heart keeps beating outside of the body.
I’m not sure about many others. This is all just superficial knowledge from a Lifeguarding class years ago.
**Edit:** As u/Med_vs_Pretty_Huge pointed out, the nerve doesn’t control your lungs, but rather your diapraghm, which is the muscle that makes you breathe.
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