Appendix has a purpose after all?
Natural NewsPosted: March 31st, 2008 by Steve Trinward
“Researchers believe that they may have uncovered the function for the appendix, which has long been thought to be superfluous: the organ may act as an incubator for beneficial bacteria that aid the body in digestion. Writing in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, researchers from Duke University Medical School speculate that the appendix provides a reservoir of beneficial microbes so that the body can replenish its supply in case a disease such as cholera or amoebic dysentery causes the bacteria in the lower gut to be purged. The researchers observed that the appendix is located just beneath the large intestine, in a spot that food and bacteria usually flow past in only one direction. This would be an ideal location for the hypothesized function.” (03/31/08)
