Electric eels generate electricity because they have electric cells on their bodies. Their important organs, such as heart, liver and head, are concentrated in the front end of their bodies. It can be said that their important organs are in the front half of their bodies, so the back half is full of muscles and electrical cells. These electrical cells are used to discharge electricity, and they are distributed in 80% of the body. These electrical cells are like batteries. If they want to discharge, they will transmit signals through the nervous system. When the body's electrical cells receive the signal to generate electricity, they will let the electrical cells quickly let ions pass through the cell membrane, and then complete the discharge.

Electric eels generally do not electrify themselves, because after a long time of evolution, their bodies and various organs are wrapped in special structural cells. Moreover, they generate electricity on both sides of the body, so they will not generate electricity to themselves under normal circumstances.

But when the electric eel enters the air, it is possible that it will electrify itself by generating electricity again. Because the resistance in the air will be greater than the resistance in their bodies, when they generate electricity in the air, they will easily be electrified by themselves. In addition, when their organs that generate electricity are damaged, they may also electrify themselves.