The Human Appendix Might Have A Use After All

[Saint_Michael 3]

For thousands of years, well maybe hundreds of years, the appendix was the most useless organ in all our human body, yet could kill a person if it became inflamed. in some interesting notes about the appendix is that on average over 300,000 people get them removed a year, and on average three to four hundred people die from appendicitis each year as well. The University of Michigan team lead by Gary Huffnagle, theorized that the appendix is use to generate the good germs inside the human body or more importantly the stomach and intestines and all that yummy stuff.I have to say FINALLY!!! I can't believe it took this long to find a story to this organ, or at least a possibility what this little organ does. Well at least it is something, now if we can figure out how to slow dow the aging process we be set .

[Dagoth Nereviar 0]

Finally Although it's only a theory, I'm sure there's been many more. But, if it does release the good germs, why can we live without it?Maybe it was used so we could eat/help us eat raw meat, but now we can't (or we can't tolerate it as much) thus the appendix is useless?

[dre 0]

I've always thought that people have organs for a reason. Although the job of the appendix isn't vital to life, if it's responsible for getting us good bacteria, then it's pretty important to the digestive system.

Edited October 6, 2007 by dre (see edit history)

[Tetraca 0]

We have many useless things in our bodies - tailbones, male nipples, et cetera. It wouldn't be a suprise if the appendix is just a lump of tissue which was left over from the development of the intestine, but I guess this is an interesting possibility, though people obviously can live normal, healthy lives without the thing, unlike, say a kidney which can reduce the lifespan of the donator IIRC.

[Will.Allison 0]

Very interesting.The reason, at least as i was taught, how we get these useless body parts is we needed them for some reason in the past and then evolved to not need them but the evolution never took out the organ. This guys theory is weird though since we can live without it. Havent they done studies before that show no difference between people with appendixes and people without? If they do create this germ, it must barely make a difference at all.

[csp4.0 1]

yes... a very interesting theory indeed.But if it does generate the good bacteria it would in fact be a very important organ so if it were removed it would be very bad for the human digestve system.

[truefusion 3]

Hmm? This is old news; i heard about this years ago. It is also said that people who have their appendixes removed tend to get sick more easily than those who still have their appendixes, since these good bacteria it produces can no longer be used by the body to defend or whatever. A bit hard to remember what i heard years ago...

[hitmanblood 0]

Well I don't know whether this knowledge of my comes from Biology books or I have read it somewhere or I might even hear it on some show or see it on soem channel like discovery or national biographics. However, this is what I heared about appendix. Appendix is in fact organ that is no more in use by our organism and because of that it is so small and needless well I don't know how to say or better to say I cannot find good word for this but it is obsolete well I think that this might be the best explanation of appendix after all. So what was it in use for? Appendix is extension of digested organs and before we eveolved and find out that meat made of fire is better then just eating raw meat appendix was still in use however now that is at certain point in time of evolution we find out that we can use fire and we started it using extensively and prepared all the meat on fire appendix became obsolete and our body don't need it anymore and that is why it became obsolete and this is the main reasons why it looks like that today small and useless. However, before when we were still using and eating raw meat and mostly raw food appendix was more in use and that is why it why it survived till the point in time when we started using fire. Also it produced certain ensims that were in use to digest raw meat and other raw products we inputed in our organism.So, this is the story of one small appendix.

[Plenoptic 0]

I haven't really thought about what the appendix ever was for. All I knew is that a lot of people had them taken out after it became inflamed. So now we have two conflicting stories, it's no longer in use because we don't need it anymore, and the other being it possibly produces good bacteria or does to help fight off sickness. I would believe either one with enough evidence. We have changed a lot and grown a lot since the early years of mankind and somethings have become more important than others.

[TikiPrincess 0]

hmmmm.... when you combine the theory Saint_Michael presents and the one from hitmanblood, it all kinda fits together. If the appendix was there to help people digest raw meat, it probably produces antibacteria to prevent people from becoming sick from bacteria that may develop on uncooked food. Since people have developed technology and now cook food instead of eating it raw or preparing it in a way to keep it safe from contamination (like sushi or steak tartar), then the appendix isn't really necessary. However, it probably still produces antibacteria and helps support the immune system, like it did before, just to a lesser extent. You can live without it, but you might be prone to getting food poisoning or sick from a bacterial infection.

[Dagoth Nereviar 0]

Well I don't know whether this knowledge of my comes from Biology books or I have read it somewhere or I might even hear it on some show or see it on soem channel like discovery or national biographics. However, this is what I heared about appendix.
[snipped to make it smaller]

So, this is the story of one small appendix.

Yeah, that's what I thought/said in my first post. It could possibly of been used to help digest raw meat. Which would in a way go with the idea of it producing good germs. Ie, germs that helped against the bad things in raw meat.

As for imflamed appendicies, prehaps that's because too much of the good germ is been made with no where for it to go? Or some sort of accidental chemical reaction took place, possibly due to the good germs not being used?

I dunno, I'm just babbling

[chaosdesign 0]

Man what was i thinking, I WAS thinking about books, the "appendix" you see in books is only useful to those who want clarification.the appendix in the body on the other hand is more of an appendage....Just had a thought, you know the Foreskin on a guys willy, what function does that have???, is it like the appendix, and has no real use???So many questions, not enough lifetimes.

[TikiPrincess 0]

Just had a thought, you know the Foreskin on a guys willy, what function does that have???, is it like the appendix, and has no real use???

Yeah, it's a little off-topic but there's a simple answer to that one. It's there to protect it since it's a really, really sensitive area. I read a study one time that said circumcision is actually bad for men and the lack of a foreskin actually causes some of the nerve-endings in the male anatomy to deteriorate as they age. However, it's still common practice.
My health teacher explained that American doctors started performing circumcisions because there was lots of infections and sickness spreading except in the Jewish quarters of the cities. People were looking for an easy solution and didn't want to pay attention to the fact that kosher food is highly regulated and there are specific instructions on cleanliness and the disposal of trash, etc. Of course, having grown up with an older brother and dealing with my husband, I can see why they figured men were the ones passing on all the germs. But as long as you keep the area clean, it really isn't an issue and it might actually be better for you to have it than not.

[linekill 1]

AHA!I've had my appendix removed due to infection when I was just 13 years old. I was warned by the surgeon that i'll be prone to stomach ulcer after surgery. Maybe that's true, maybe not. It may seem useless when you grow up but I think, (i've heard it somewhere and not sure) that the appendix stores some hormones or something that help us at ages 0-6 years. After that age, it becomes useless. Well, maybe.

[truefusion 3]

Appendix is in fact organ that is no more in use by our organism and because of that it is so small and needless well I don't know how to say or better to say I cannot find good word for this but it is obsolete well I think that this might be the best explanation of appendix after all. So what was it in use for? Appendix is extension of digested organs and before we eveolved and find out that meat made of fire is better then just eating raw meat appendix was still in use however now that is at certain point in time of evolution we find out that we can use fire and we started it using extensively and prepared all the meat on fire appendix became obsolete and our body don't need it anymore and that is why it became obsolete and this is the main reasons why it looks like that today small and useless. However, before when we were still using and eating raw meat and mostly raw food appendix was more in use and that is why it why it survived till the point in time when we started using fire. Also it produced certain ensims that were in use to digest raw meat and other raw products we inputed in our organism.

This doesn't make any sense to me. You imply cave-man times, and according to the theory of evolution, we have evolved several times since that stage. If during the cave-man times the appendix became obsolete, by the time we became what we are today, the appendix would not exist in our bodies, for it has become obsolete like you say it is. It would not be "as small as it is today," it just wouldn't be there, period. But we still have it today, therefore, it must still have a use. And how do you know the appendix was bigger back then? Did it really need to be that big? I mean, how long does food take before it reaches the appendix? If the food was deadly, it would have caused damage to the digestive system up till it reaches the appendix, assuming the appendix was as strong as you imply it was back then. Also, did you see a cave-man's appendix? Didn't we find a "cave man" somewhere along the line? Did anyone check the size of its appendix?

As for imflamed appendicies, prehaps that's because too much of the good germ is been made with no where for it to go? Or some sort of accidental chemical reaction took place, possibly due to the good germs not being used?

Unless the organ became unstable, it would have no reason for it to create more of what it normally needs. A more possible explanation is that any bad bacteria that got in there was too much to handle for the good bacteria.