Appendix...Useless?

Eyes are made for seeing and feet are made for walking…

But did you know that certain parts of our bodies are virtually useless? Some of these apparently‘lost their function’ over time. 

So, while our ancestors may have had a use for them many moons ago, in today’s world they really don’t add much value.  Similar to the way cassette tape players in cars are losing their function as we’ve evolved to CDs and MP3 files. Today, few (if any) cars are built with a tape-deck – our bodies seem to change with the times as well.

An example in Humans…

The Appendix

The appendix does about as much for a human as wings do for an ostrich (Hint: Ostriches don’t fly…).

Evolutionary theorists believe that our appendix may have been important to our early ancestors who were big time plant-eaters. 

Today the appendix is a small pouch that doesn’t directly assist us with digestion.  So, perhaps the appendix lost its power as a result of our increased consumption of meat. 

With a bit of humour, Paleontologist Alfred Sherwood Romer once remarked that the major purpose of the appendix was probably to give financial support to the surgical profession.  (The Vertebrate Body, 1949). 

Each year, there are hundreds of deaths from appendicitis and hundreds of thousands of appendectomies performed.

The vast majority of people who have their appendix removed, don’t miss it at all – perhaps the greatest bit of proof that it is of no real importance.