Index
What is the appendix for?
In humans, the appendix is almost isolated from digestive functions. That is why it was believed that it had lost all its functions, but recent research has discovered that it serves to :
- Act as a “receptacle” for digestive bacteria
- As a reserve for bacteria useful to the body
- Release these bacteria during their shortage
Serves as a receptacle for digestive bacteria
Bacteria that inhabit the digestive tract allow optimal food processing. Thanks to the appendix, the population of these bacteria remains abundant , and a better assimilation of nutrients in food is possible.
It is a reserve for bacteria useful to the body
Possibly, this mechanism of reserve of bacteria useful to the body had to evolve to maintain a quantity of intestinal fauna necessary for digestive processes (especially for the digestion of plant foods).
To release these bacteria during their shortage
The appendix, in case of a shortage of these bacteria, works by releasing them in sufficient quantity to support digestion .
The hominid , evolutionary ancestors of the Homo sapiens or modern human, left at a time to feed exclusively on grass and began to increase their populations. In the cases in which they lost their intestinal flora, they had the possibility of repopulating it in a simple way , with germs that they capture by being in continuous contact with other individuals.
It is due to this new type of bacteria compensation that the appendix gradually lost its organic usefulness, becoming dysfunctional and reducing its size to what it currently has in the human body.
Appendix features
The vermiform appendix is a protruding extension of the intestine.
The appendix is considered a vestigial organ , which although it had an evident practical utility in hominids, initially herbivores , this has been relegated by the greater consumption of animal products, such as meat and dairy products.
The appendix is no longer so necessary in the human body. Its usefulness is to provide bacteria to better digest plant species. As these are consumed less frequently, the appendix is no longer indispensable. For this reason, the term “vestigial”: it does not matter if it is found in the body or not.
Cases have been found in which some people lack an appendix as a congenital feature. These cases occur in an approximate proportion of one person for every one hundred thousand individuals who are born with this organ in the body.
Precautions to take with the appendix
It is because of its small size that the appendix runs the risk of being obstructed with food, abscesses or inflammation from infections.
Due to its high content of bacteria that make up the intestinal flora, the appendix runs the risk of becoming infected and suffering from an inflammation called appendicitis , a disease that requires surgical removal of this organ , because otherwise it would cause a perforation of the intestine and a more severe infection that would cause death.
Dr. Samantha Robson ( CRN: 0510146-5) is a nutritionist and website content reviewer related to her area of expertise. With a postgraduate degree in Nutrition from The University of Arizona, she is a specialist in Sports Nutrition from Oxford University and is also a member of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
