Why do we have appendix????

Question

why do we have appendix if we dont actually need them?

Answer 1

the appendix (or vermiform appendix; also cecal (or caecal) appendix; also vermix) is a blind ended tube connected to the cecum (or caecum), from which it develops embryologically. It has no purpose as such but i collects some of your dangerous waste particles of your body.

Answer 2

You really have to ask the Maker Upstairs...He will be the best person to reason out with...To me It was "Design Fault" designed by some part time engineer...!!! He didnt understand Human enology he thought it was the Over Flow Meter  Indication Tube...now its called Appendix

Answer 3

There was a recent report (I don't have the link), that contrary to popular belief, it did have a use, and that was to store beneficial gut bacteria, during a period of extreme diarrhea and sickness if the intestines get more or less flushed out of everything, including useful bacteria, then the repository of these bacteria in the appendix, are used to "kick start" a normal digestive function, once the sickness has passed.

Answer 4

i think we used to use them when we were cavemen and ate raw meat. since we dont eat raw meat anymore we dont need our appendix.. but apparently it doesnt work anymore anyway

Answer 5

The appendix was originally our second stomach to help digest raw foods. Through evolution of man and evolution of his kitchen skills it is now defunct. Appendicitis is caused by food(usually meat build up) rotting in the appendix. Do we need them? I've heard surgeons can remove and use your appendix to patch up holes after operations on internal organs.I don't know if this is true or not.

Answer 6

when we were "cave men" we didn't eat meat and we needed appendix to be able to digest the vegetation that we ate. since humans have evolved and we no longer eat twigs our bodies have adapted to bypass the appendix. maybe in millions of years we will no longer have the appendix with process of evolution.

Answer 7

It's possible the appendix may still have a function, in that it retains helpful bacteria required for digestion. The appendix forms a little space for the bacteria to live in, so they don't get expelled with f***s.

Answer 8

Read this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21153898/

Answer 9

Right now, the appendix is thought to be a lymphoid tissue, meaning it has a role in our immune system. However, this is only significant, albeit only slight, in the early years of life. Other than and beyond that, it is actually a vestigial organ.

Answer 10

The appendix is a remnant from earlier times when humans ate large amounts of raw meat...since it is no longer necessary, it evolved nearly out of existence...(natural selection)

Answer 11

There willbe some sort of biological answer to do with our ancestors.  Also, this might help

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Answer 12

Left over from evolution.  We used to need them.

Answer 13

you left out the word 'still'. We 'still' have an appendix, it is vestigial, which means it is withering through lack of use...  WE used to eat a lot more in the manner of chimps and other primates, but our diet changed millenia ago, with the advent of COOKED MEAT mmmmmnnnn.  

  It is proof of our evolution!

Answer 14

arent they suppose to get rid of some bad bacteria or somethin like that??

Answer 15

good q, i am not sure, maybe it has a purpose.

Answer 16

Our primate ancestors had a diet that consisted of foods rich in cellulose (they ate lots of plants and other greens). The appendix is a reminent of a larger intestine that they had which has decreased in size throughout evolution to make room for the stomach which increased in size adapting to the larger amounts of protein and then carbohydrates our ancestors started eating.

There is also evidence that it has an immune function as it contains lymphoid cells, however people can function normally without it if they have had it removed.