Fun with science: the Appendix

I vaguely remember my 8th grade biology teacher describing the appendix as a vestigal organ. Meaning it must have served a function at one time, but now it just kind of sits there - doing nothing.

Well, for some reason, I was thinking about my appendix today (perhaps it was the two gyro lunch..). I found this on the Scientific American's website:

"For years, the appendix was credited with very little physiological function. We now know, however, that the appendix serves an important role in the fetus and in young adults. Endocrine cells appear in the appendix of the human fetus at around the 11th week of development. These endocrine cells of the fetal appendix have been shown to produce various biogenic amines and peptide hormones, compounds that assist with various biological control (homeostatic) mechanisms. There had been little prior evidence of this or any other role of the appendix in animal research, because the appendix does not exist in domestic mammals."

And in adults...

"Among adult humans, the appendix is now thought to be involved primarily in immune functions...

...in this context, the function of the appendix appears to be to expose white blood cells to the wide variety of antigens, or foreign substances, present in the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, the appendix probably helps to suppress potentially destructive humoral (blood- and lymph-borne) antibody responses while promoting local immunity."

So it really is a useful little doo-hicky. I'm glad I still have mine. Hopefully it will continue to function properly. If you're not sure where your appendix is - it's the 3-6" hollow sac attached to the large intestine (according to webMD)