Diseases of the appendix

Abstract

Although it may be an afterthought in the broader scope of colonic disease, the appendix is, at the very least, the most famous vestigial organ in the human body. The ancestral purpose of the appendix remains debatable, but several common theories suggest that it may have played a role in the immune system or served as a reservoir for normal gut flora. Charles Darwin hypothesized that the appendix may be the remnant of a longer cecum that in some animals assists in the breakdown of cellulose rich foods (Bowler 2003). Regardless of its origins, the appendix remains well known today as the most common culprit of abdominal surgical emergencies.