For years, the appendix carried a reputation as the body’s most pointless organ. Doctors often removed it without hesitation, and textbooks labeled it a vestigial structure—something our ancestors ...

Unfortunately, this book can't be printed from the OpenBook. If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a PDF. Visit NAP.edu/10766 to get more information about this ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Why do humans have an appendix? New research is reshaping our understanding of this overlooked organ and its antiquated role in ...

Most people know only two things about the appendix: You don't need it—and if it bursts, you need surgery fast. That basic story traces back at least to Charles Darwin, the English naturalist who ...

(THE CONVERSATION) Most people know only two things about the appendix: You don’t need it – and if it bursts, you need surgery fast. That basic story traces back at least to Charles Darwin, the ...