Book Club
Replaceable You by Mary Roach
Adventures in Human Anatomy
Science writer Mary Roach is probably the only author who can make me laugh out loud and learn something at the same time. Her latest book, Replaceable You, is an investigation of the science of replacement body parts.
The very fact that this book has 17 chapters tells you right away that the common transplants you probably already know about represent only a small fraction of what modern surgeons can now do. As Roach says, “The achievements are dazzling, almost beyond comprehension.”
Naturally, Roach talks at length about organ transplants. More than 100,000 people are waiting on transplant lists in the U.S. alone. Median wait times for many transplant organs are well over a year.
What if there were a better way? The chapter “How to Print a Human,” explores the possibility of using a patient’s living cells as a kind of scaffold for newly grown tissue. In this way, it could be possible to replace organs with no need for a donor and less risk of rejection. It’s called “regenerative medicine.”
Roach visited a lab where a 3-D printer is using collagen to support freshly grown cells. The potential is exciting, but a scientist she interviewed warned that actually growing viable human organs is probably still decades off.
Another regenerative medicine company has set its sights on regenerating human hair follicles to conquer baldness.
A Fun but Grisly Ride
Replaceable You is gross but fascinating, and you’ll learn some things you probably never imagined.
For example, I learned that the first silicone buttock enhancement was done by a plastic surgeon in Mexico City in 1979. Another bizarre fact is that Hormel spent 15 years partnering with the NIH to develop miniature pigs — not as pets, but because their physiology is so like ours.
Roach touches on everything from skin grafts to ostomy care to prosthetic limbs. This book definitely isn’t for everyone — I gave it to some friends who quickly gave it right back — but if you’re a true science geek like me, it’ll help you sound like the smartest person in the room as you describe some of these unusual procedures.
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach (Norton & Co., 2025)
CHRISTINE CONTILLO, RN, BSN, PHN, is a public health nurse with more than 40 years of experience, ranging from infants to geriatrics. She enjoys volunteering for medical missions.
In this Article: Healthcare Technology
