Most of us are familiar with the appendix, that worm-shaped tube at the beginning of the large intestine, even if we can’t remember which side of the abdomen it resides. (Hint: It’s not the left side.

For decades, the appendix has been dismissed as a useless organ — a leftover from human evolution with no real function.

Discover the surprising role of the appendix in immunity and gut health, alongside insights on appendicitis and treatment ...

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 has long had a reputation as a redundant organ with no real function. Doctors often remove it even in mild cases of appendicitis to prevent future infection and rupture, which may not ...

MINNEAPOLIS — Stephen Colbert is away from late-night TV following emergency surgery last week — the comedian's appendix burst. That made us wonder: What does the appendix do for our body? And why are ...

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 ...

Traditionally the appendix is the blockbuster of useless body parts – a leader in purposelessness ahead of wisdom teeth and the tailbone. However, a new study suggests the appendix isn’t vestigial at ...

Creationists will have a field day with this one. Turns out that Charles Darwin was wrong about the appendix. Darwin believed the organ didn’t do anything useful, so it might have been vestigial — an ...

The appendix is actually part of your immune system. Just because you can live without it doesn't mean you don't need it. Why can't people realise this? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain ...