Posted on 01/20/2016 6:39:11 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
Most people think little about their appendix, and that's only natural, because the function of the appendix has been considered unknown - until now. New research supports that our appendixes might actually be useful after all, and doctors may soon be changing their tune about this neglected organ. The appendix, which looks like a slim tube measuring between two and four inches long, sits in our lower right abdomen. It was originally thought to be vestigial - a part of the body that evolution forgot. Popular belief was that this leftover organ was originally part of a fermenting chamber in our gut, used to processed uncooked foods and grass (similar to a cow). Today, if the appendix causes too much trouble, it becomes inflamed - even in mild cases of appendicitis, doctors will usually remove it as a preventative measure. Even if removal isn't imperative, and the infection can be treated by non-surgical options like antibiotics, those remain largely unexplored. The appendix, like our long forgotten tonsils, gets no love.
A study published in Nature Immunology in November suggests that this underrated organ might actually be key for maintaining immune cells useful for fighting infections in the gut.
(Excerpt) Read more at bustle.com ...
God seems to have had a design and use for it after all.
I never had one. At least that’s what the doctor told me when he was in there taking my son out (C-section)
Wow. That is unusual, I bet.
Every part of our bodies was designed by God.
We just don’t understand what he did.
Man, in his hubris, thinks he knows better than God.
Glad mine is hanging in there!
Without an appendix to get inflamed, how would you ever know you had appendicitis?
Had two minor cases of appendicitis before grade school. My doctor then believed in avoiding surgeries if possible. After the second, he told us that once more and it was coming out. Never had another incident. That was almost 70 years ago.
“Popular belief was that this leftover organ...”
They make it sound like that was a folk legend. No, that’s what scientists made sure every grade-schooler was taught.
A few years ago I read how both tonsils and the appendix are beneficial to the body. I can’t remember how, exactly, but it was serious enough that I prayed my children would never need either removed.
Leftover, useless organs make sense only from an evolutionary world view that eliminates the need for a creator.
People think they know more than nature. Proven wrong again.
Had a very bad attack in early November and had to have mine out.
But I’ve never had any doubt that it had a purpose.
I’m now having some continuing issues with my gut that I suspect have something to do with the fact I no longer have one.
True story: My twin brother was in the hospital recovering from appendectomy. We were visiting and the doctor told my parents he did not like my coloring, that he thought I was suffering with an appendix inflammation.
We thought he was exaggerating as I had no symptoms..less than 24 hours later, I was doubled up in pain, had surgery, doctor told us it was so bad I had been hours from death....I ended up in the bed next to my brother.
This is old news.
The appendix is a place for beneficial bacteria to hide out during an episode of diarrhea.
So, you’re saying the “science is settled” on this?
They couldn’t find mine. Incision was 4-5 inches long. I was 15.
I always thought of it as a “ground wire”.....
If the appendix becomes infected, and it burst sending microbes into your gut and your blood, you die. You’ll be very sad if it happens to your child and it’s not taken care of. So beware. It happens.
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