History Main / SpareBodyParts

** Very likely borrowed from Hindu mythology, where extra heads and limbs tend to be the norm.

** The krogan take this trope to its LogicalExtreme, having evolved redundant internal organs as a result of living on a DeathWorld. At one point [=EDI=] mentions a krogan's ''tertiary'' organ systems, meaning even their spares have spares. And when one of the redundant ones kick in, it triggers an [[UnstoppableRage intense adrenaline surge]] that permits them to [[FoeTossingCharge knock people aside like ragdolls]]. Never attack a krogan with anything less what you'd use to demolish a building. [[Film/BlazingSaddles You'll just make him mad.]]

* Dwarves in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' have [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0375.html two livers.]]

*** Both the spinoff novels and the new series indicate that the Doctor is capable of living with only one functioning heart, though this weakens him.

* Spiral of Creator/MarvelComics has six arms, though the extra pairs are [[ArtificialLimbs robotic additions]] made by Mojo. Fittingly, one of her aliases is "[[HinduMythology Shiva]]".

* The ''Literature/CoDominium'' Moties have one large, powerful hand on their left side, and two smaller, more dexterous hands on their right side.

* A pianist from ''Film/{{Gattaca}}'' was genetically engineered to have twelve fingers. There are apparently enough people like this around that some pieces of piano music ''require'' extra fingers to play.

[[folder:Comics]]

* Minor villain--practically no more than a mutant thug--Fourarm has, well, four arms. That's about all there is to him.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Film/{{Coneheads}}'', we learn that the Remulakians have [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily at least four rows of teeth.]]

* The Tyrathca of ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy''. Females of the breeder caste have multiple sets of ovaries, each becoming fertile at a different time in her cycle, and each producing a different kind of egg that hatches into a different caste. (The Tyrathca are a [[BeePeople Eusocial]] species with multiple castes that evolved to perform specialized tasks such as Hunter, Soldier, Farmer, etc. Only the Breeders are fertile and fully intelligent. All other castes are little more then beasts of burden [[CripplingOverspecialization lacking the intelligence to do anything but the task they evolved for.]])

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'''s Klingons have a number of physiological redundancies such as an extra liver, a double set of ribs, redundant nerve systems and an extra lung. In at least one episode where that's brought up, the show also points out that this has its disadvantages; while it allows for survival if one of them fails, the fact that there are more of them increases the chance of one going wrong in the ''first'' place, causing problems in the process.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Centauri have two hearts. Unlike Klingons, Centauri can die if either heart fails. In the season five episode "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari", in which Londo suffers a heart attack, we find out more details: the right heart is a large and simple muscle, much like a human heart, whereas the left heart is a knot of blood vessels that gives the blood pressure an extra kick and also functions much as a human kidney (mollusks on earth have a somewhat similar system). Surgery on the left heart is correspondingly difficult due to its complexity. The left heart is considered the seat of the soul in traditional Centauri culture. Males also have [[ExoticEquipment six prehensile penises sprouting from their backs (aligned in pairs along the spine), corresponding to six similarly-arranged slits in the female]].
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Time Lords have two hearts. The Doctor is no exception.
** Some of the spinoff novels have added a great deal of lore regarding Time Lord hearts, including:

** Both the spinoff novels and the new series indicate that the Doctor is capable of living with only one functioning heart, though this weakens him.

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

* The Shokan (the race of Goro and Sheeva) in ''MortalKombat'' all have four arms.

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' episode "Dark Harvest" when there's a physical coming up and Zim realises the nurse would figure out he's not human after examining him, he goes around stealing organs from the other students. Of course, with Zim being [[CloudCuckoolander Zim]] he goes over the top and steals more organs than he really needs. Lucky for him the nurse is an idiot and doesn't see anything amiss.

[[folder: RealLife]]

* Most people have two kidneys and can survive with one. Which is fortunate as it's one of the most failure-prone organs due to its complexity, so you have a spare if one of yours fails or both of a relative's kidneys fail. That said, it's not unknown for people to be born with a single large kidney or three or four small ones too.

* Spiral of MarvelComics has six arms, though the extra pairs are [[ArtificialLimbs robotic additions]] made by Mojo. Fittingly, one of her aliases is "[[HinduMythology Shiva]]".

* MultiArmedAndDangerous

* Spiral of MarvelComics has six arms, though the extra pairs are robotic additions made by Mojo. Fittingly, one of her aliases is "Shiva".

* Most people have two kidneys and can survive with one. Which is fortunate as it's one of the most failure-prone organs due to its complexity, so you have a spare if one of yours fails or both of a relative's kidneys fail.
** It's not unknown for people to be born with a single large kidney or three or four small ones too.

* The ''CoDominium'' Moties have one large, powerful hand on their left side, and two smaller, more dexterous hands on their right side.

* The Tyrathca of ''TheNightsDawnTrilogy''. Females of the breeder caste have multiple sets of ovaries, each becoming fertile at a different time in her cycle, and each producing a different kind of egg that hatches into a different caste. (The Tyrathca are a [[BeePeople Eusocial]] species with multiple castes that evolved to perform specialized tasks such as Hunter, Soldier, Farmer, etc. Only the Breeders are fertile and fully intelligent. All other castes are little more then beasts of burden [[CripplingOverspecialization lacking the intelligence to do anything but the task they evolved for.]])

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Centauri have two hearts. Unlike Klingons, Centauri can die if either heart fails. In the season five episode "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari", in which Londo suffers a heart attack, we find out more details: the right heart is a large and simple muscle, much like a human heart, whereas the left heart is a knot of blood vessels that gives the blood pressure an extra kick and also functions much as a human kidney (mollusks on earth have a somewhat similar system). Surgery on the left heart is correspondingly difficult due to its complexity. The left heart is considered the seat of the soul in traditional Centauri culture. Males also have six prehensile penises located on the sides of their torsos.

* S.L. Viehl uses this a ''lot'' in the ''{{Stardoc}}'' series. For example, there's an alien in the first book with ''two separate digestive tracts''.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** Centauri have two hearts. Unlike Klingons, Centauri can die if either heart fails. In the season five episode "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari", in which Londo suffers a heart attack, we find out more details: the right heart is a large and simple muscle, much like a human heart, whereas the left heart is a knot of blood vessels that gives the blood pressure an extra kick and also functions much as a human kidney (mollusks on earth have a somewhat similar system). Surgery on the left heart is correspondingly difficult due to its complexity. The left heart is considered the seat of the soul in traditional Centauri culture.
** Males also have six prehensile penises located on the sides of their torsos.

[[folder: Role Playing Games]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', the [=Genestealer Hybrids=], an Alienesque cult designed by the equally Alienesque Tyranids, have six limbs, four of which are the normal mammal-human ones, and the two (or sometimes only one) others are clawed and chitin-ed.
** For that matter, the Space Marines have 19 extra organs implanted although only two of them are actually spares for existing organs (an extra heart and lung).
[[/folder]]

* The lounge singers in the original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Classic}}'' had two mouths each. Meanwhile those insectoid things had four arms. Eek, in both cases.

* In the ''InvaderZim'' episode "Dark Harvest" when there's a physical coming up and Zim realises the nurse would figure out he's not human after examining him, he goes around stealing organs from the other students. Of course, with Zim being [[CloudCuckoolander Zim]] he goes over the top and steals more organs than he really needs. Lucky for him the nurse is an idiot and doesn't see anything amiss.

* In an episode of ''{{Futurama}}'', Bender was in an accident that cost him the use of his arms. Music/{{Beck}} gave him tiny replacement arms mounted on his neck (which Beck used to play the harmonica). Later when he regained the use of his original arms, he'd use both pairs in expressions.

* A prostitute in the original ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' has to wear a special kind of brassiere... The [[Film/TotallRecall2012 2012 remake]] trailer shows a woman who makes men wish they had three hands.

->'''[[PlayerCharacter Shepard]]:''' [The ''[[CoolStarship Normandy]]'' was] destroyed in a Collector surprise attack. [[WeCanRebuildHim I]] ended up [[ThrownOutTheAirlock spaced]].\\
'''[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Wrex]]:''' Well, you look good. Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system.\\

* Gilgamesh from the ''FinalFantasy'' series had at least eight arms.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'''s Klingons have a number of physiological redundancies such as an extra liver, a double set of ribs, redundant nerve systems and an extra lung.

** For that matter, the Space Marines have 19 extra organs implanted.

* A prostitute in the original ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' has to wear a special kind of brassiere... The 2011 remake trailer shows a woman who makes men wish they had three hands.