The human appendix, a narrow pouch that projects off the cecum in the digestive system, has a notorious reputation for its tendency to become inflamed (appendicitis), often resulting in surgical ...

The evolution of the appendix is a fascinating phenomenon. Learn about the original function of the appendix and why having one may cause more trouble than it’s worth. Most of us are familiar with the ...

Long denigrated as vestigial or useless, the appendix now appears to have a reason to be – as a “safe house” for the beneficial bacteria living in the human gut. Drawing upon a series of observations ...

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center say that the function of the frequently discarded appendix, an organ often credited with little importance and often dismissed as having no significant ...

The appendix may not be useless after all. The worm-shaped structure found near the junction of the small and large intestines evolved 32 times among mammals, according to a new study. The finding ...

The theory of evolution suggests that the present-day ‘vestigial parts’ of the human body – like the appendix, wisdom teeth, and tailbone – fell out of use with the passage of time as we continued to ...

The appendix is a very small finger-like tissue attached to the beginning of the large intestine, in the lower right side of the abdomen. It is popularly known as a vestigial organ, as in one which ...

in 2007, Associate Professor William Parker of Duke University School of Medicine discovered that the appendix was used as a 'reservoir of gut microbiota.' Bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria and ...

The human appendix, a narrow pouch that projects off the cecum in the digestive system, has a notorious reputation for its tendency to become inflamed (appendicitis), often resulting in surgical ...