The human appendix

[SlackAlice]

Just read that only Vegetarian mammals have appendix and this is the case throughout the animal kingdom without exception apart from us of course!

I have not come across this before ..does anyone know if it is true?

Slack Alice

[Clueless Git]

Just read that only Vegetarian mammals have appendix and this is the case throughout the animal kingdom without exception apart from us of course!

I have not come across this before ..does anyone know if it is true?

Slack Alice

Can't find anything that suggests that any true carnivores have one ...

As a specific anatomic structure, the appendix has been described in only a few species. In humans and apes, it is a thin, tubular structure (hence the name vermiform, or "worm-like," appendix) located at the apex of the cecum, a blind pouch near the beginning of the large intestine. Scientists have also identified appendix-like structures in other species of primates, but these structures have not been well characterized. Rabbits and some rodents have appendices, and it is research on these species that has begun to shed some light on the mystery of the organ�s function.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...pendix-serve-a

[harpy]

Interesting, they seem to be surrounded by controversy which extends to the question of who has one - some say only rabbits, humans and a few other primates!

Some people seem to see them as evidence of an evolutionary past where we needed an extra bit of intestine to digest leaves or other slow-to-process vegetation, but there are other theories as well like this one http://www.newscientist.com/blog/sho...after-all.html (which seems to be where I read the thing about rabbits as well).

[khadagan]

Interesting article, thanks for the link!

[Greyowl55]

Same here, very good article. I have to admit that, having parted company with mine at the age of 9, I had always accepted what I was told then - that it was a left over from an earlier stage of evolution. I am one of 4 children. 3 of us have had our appendix out, which would appear to be statistically significant. Does this mean that there is a genetic issue here or that as children we were fed a diet that irritated the appendage?

I supposed that if you asked 5 doctors you would get 10 answers!