The Hidden Power of the Appendix
It’s not useless — it’s a reservoir.
The only thing that most of us know about our appendix is that it’s useless, and it may kill us. We’ve seen it in sitcoms and heard about it with friends-of-friends; someone had a burst appendix and had to be rushed to the hospital for lifesaving surgery.
If you go by what’s popular, the appendix seems like a pretty stupid idea, overall. An organ that has no benefit for us and could kill us at any point if it decides to burst? What’s the point of that?
But in the last decade or two, our opinion of the appendix has changed. No longer is it denigrated as a “vestigial organ.”
No, the appendix has an invaluable purpose for us.
It’s a reservoir.
A reservoir of what? What does it hold? Does this mean it’s a bad thing if you’re walking around without one?
Let’s give a quick overview of what the appendix is and what we now believe that it does for us.
Like if our large intestine had a cute little tail
Quick, look down at your body. Point to your appendix! Hurry, hurry! Where is it?
Are you pointing to your right side, at roughly the same height as your upper hip bone…
