Purpose of Appendix Found

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RedGlitter
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by RedGlitter »

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut.

That's the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School, published online in a scientific journal this week.

For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous. Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely. People live fine without them.

And when infected the appendix can turn deadly. It gets inflamed quickly and some people die if it isn't removed in time. Two years ago, 321,000 Americans were hospitalized with appendicitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system, according to the study in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most are good and help digest food.

But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive system in that case.

The appendix "acts as a good safe house for bacteria," said Duke surgery professor Bill Parker, a study co-author. Its location _ just below the normal one-way flow of food and germs in the large intestine in a sort of gut cul-de-sac -- helps support the theory, he said.

Also, the worm-shaped organ outgrowth acts like a bacteria factory, cultivating the good germs, Parker said.

That use is not needed in a modern industrialized society, Parker said.

If a person's gut flora dies, it can usually be repopulated easily with germs they pick up from other people, he said. But before dense populations in modern times and during epidemics of cholera that affected a whole region, it wasn't as easy to grow back that bacteria and the appendix came in handy.

In less developed countries, where the appendix may be still useful, the rate of appendicitis is lower than in the U.S., other studies have shown, Parker said.

He said the appendix may be another case of an overly hygienic society triggering an overreaction by the body's immune system.

Even though the appendix seems to have a function, people should still have them removed when they are inflamed because it could turn deadly, Parker said. About 300 to 400 Americans die of appendicitis each year, according to the CDC.

Five scientists not connected with the research said that the Duke theory makes sense and raises interesting questions.

The idea "seems by far the most likely" explanation for the function of the appendix, said Brandeis University biochemistry professor Douglas Theobald. "It makes evolutionary sense."

The theory led Gary Huffnagle, a University of Michigan internal medicine and microbiology professor, to wonder about the value of another body part that is often yanked: "I'll bet eventually we'll find the same sort of thing with the tonsils."
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Sheryl
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by Sheryl »

I had my appendix and 6 inches of my large instestines removed when i was 15. :D
"Girls are crazy! I'm not ever getting married, I can make my own sandwiches!"

my son
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spot
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by spot »

Sheryl;705469 wrote: I had my appendix and 6 inches of my large instestines removed when i was 15. :D


Where do you keep them, Sheryl?
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Nomad
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by Nomad »

Ive always thought the appendix was highly underrated.

This really drives my point home.

Im feeling quite smug now.
I AM AWESOME MAN
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Nomad
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by Nomad »

Jones Jones;705595 wrote: hi red .. i know i've said this before ... but ... you are such a good writer ... sure you don't work for cnn?



jj




Actually she works for The Onion.
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RedGlitter
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by RedGlitter »

I'm just really good at Cut & Paste :-6
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Kathy Ellen
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by Kathy Ellen »

I've read that early man used to eat mostly berries that can add poison to the body. The appendix stored those toxins.

Now, our body has other ways of dealing with toxins.
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Sheryl
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by Sheryl »

spot;705578 wrote: Where do you keep them, Sheryl?


In a jar in my cabinet. I pull them out every Febuary and celebrate their removal. :wah:
"Girls are crazy! I'm not ever getting married, I can make my own sandwiches!"

my son
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WonderWendy3
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Purpose of Appendix Found

Post by WonderWendy3 »

Sheryl;705645 wrote: In a jar in my cabinet. I pull them out every Febuary and celebrate their removal. :wah:


:yh_clap:yh_clap

Good Answer, Good Answer, I feel like I'm on Family Fued.....:thinking:
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