A sudden appendectomy as a child made Heather Smith curious about what the appendix is for and why it gets inflamed. Now as an anatomy researcher, she's finding answers.

The evolution of the appendix is a fascinating phenomenon. Learn about the original function of the appendix and why having one may cause more trouble than it’s worth.

The appendix is a small organ situated between the small and large intestines. For a long time, scientists didn't know its function and deemed it useless. In fact, it was seen as potentially dangerous ...

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center say that the function of the frequently discarded appendix, an organ often credited with little importance and often dismissed as having no ...

Appendix Not a Useless Organ, as Formerly Thought -- Serves Critical Function, Say Researchers From Arizona and Duke U ...

According to a new study by researchers at Midwestern University, the appendix might serve an important bodily function. According to the study, led by Heather F. Smith, an associate professor at ...

A new research has revealed that the appendix acts as a “safe house” for the beneficial bacteria living in the human gut.

The theory of evolution suggests that the present-day ‘vestigial parts’ of the human body – like the appendix, wisdom teeth, and tailbone – fell out of use with the passage of time as we ...

US scientists studied the timeline of the appendix’s evolution in humans by analysing gastrointestinal and environmental traits from 533 mammal species.

Original Appendix Function Of course, other researchers (including Charles Darwin, the “father of evolution” himself) argue the appendix is merely a thing of the past. They call it a vestigial organ: ...