What is the appendix?
Q: What is the appendix?
A: The appendix is a blind ended tube connected to the cecum (or caecum), which is a pouch-like part of the colon. It is located near the junction of the small intestine and large intestine, and its length is approximately 4 to 6 centimetres.
Q: What does "vermiform" mean?
A: Vermiform comes from Latin and means "worm-like in appearance".
Q: What function does the appendix have in humans?
A: The appendix has no apparent function in humans, but it may act as a storage for beneficial ("good") gut bacteria which aid us on digesting difficult food and fighting germs.
Q: Why did Darwin suggest that the appendix was used by early man's ancestor?
A: Darwin suggested that the appendix was perhaps used to digest leaves as primates. Early man’s ancestor may have also relied upon this system and lived on a diet rich in foliage.
Q: How has evolution affected our use of the appendix?
A: Over time, humans have eaten fewer vegetables and have evolved. Over thousands of years, this organ has become smaller to make room for the stomach, making it a vestigial organ which has degraded to nearly nothing in the course of evolution.
Q: How do herbivorous mammals such as Koalas use their appendices differently than humans?
A: Herbivorous mammals such as Koalas have large appendices, usually accompanied by other adaptations as well. Cellulose from plant cell walls is hard to break down so their cecums are attached to junctures between small and large intestines like ours but are very long so they can host bacteria specific for cellulose breakdown.
