Vermiform appendix Totally Explained

Everything about Vermiform Appendix totally explained

In human anatomy, the appendix (or vermiform appendix; also cecal (or caecal) appendix; also vermix) is a blind ended tube connected to the cecum (or caecum), from which it develops embryologically. The cecum is a pouch-like structure of the colon. The appendix is near the junction of the small intestine and the large intestine.
The term "vermiform" comes from Latin and means "worm-like in appearance".

Size and location

The appendix averages 10 cm in length, but can range from 2 to 20 cm. The diameter of the appendix is usually between 7 and 8 mm. The longest appendix ever removed measured 26 cm in Zagreb, Croatia.
The appendix is located in the lower right quadrant of the abdomen, or more specifically, the right iliac fossa. Its position within the abdomen corresponds to a point on the surface known as McBurney's point (see below). While the base of the appendix is at a fairly constant location, 2 cm below the ileocaecal valve was that the appendix was used for digesting leaves as primates. Over time, we've eaten fewer vegetables and have evolved, over millions of years, for this organ to be smaller to make room for our stomach. It may be a vestigial organ of ancient man that has degraded down to nearly nothing over the course of evolution. Evidence can be seen in herbivorous animals such as the Koala. The cecum of the koala is attached to the juncture of the small and large intestines and is very long, enabling it to host bacteria specific for cellulose breakdown. Early man’s ancestor must have also relied upon this system and lived on a diet rich in foliage. As man began to eat more easily digested foods, they became less reliant on cellulose-rich plants for energy. The cecum became less necessary for digestion and mutations that previously had been deleterious were no longer selected against. These alleles became more frequent and the cecum continued to shrink. After thousands of years, the once-necessary cecum has degraded to what we see today; the appendix. Darwin:
Few mammals other than humans, the other anthropoid apes, and other primates have an appendix. Recent evidence based on a possible immune function is seen by one group of researchers to contradict the explanation of the appendix as a vestige of evolutionary development.]] However, such a view is actually a misinterpretation of the claim of vestigial status in evolutionary theory (for example, vestigial systems can have other functions).
Evolutionary theorists have suggested that natural selection selects for larger appendices because smaller and thinner appendices would be more susceptible to inflammation and disease.

Immune Use

Loren G. Martin, a professor of physiology at Oklahoma State University, argues that the appendix has a function in fetuses and adults. Endocrine cells have been found in the appendix of 11 week old fetuses that contribute to "biological control (homeostatic) mechanisms." In adults, Martin argues that the appendix acts as a lymphatic organ. The appendix is experimentally verified as being rich in infection-fighting lymphoid cells, suggesting that it might play a role in the immune system. Zahid suggests that it plays a role in both manufacturing hormones in fetal development as well as functioning to 'train' the immune system, exposing the body to antigens in order that it can produce antibodies. He notes that doctors in the last decade have stopped removing the appendix during other surgical procedures as a routine precaution, because it can be successfully transplanted into the urinary tract to rebuild a sphincter muscle and reconstruct a functional bladder.

Latest Interpretation: Maintaining gut flora

Although it was long accepted that the immune tissue, called gut associated lymphoid tissue, surrounding the appendix and elsewhere in the gut carries out a number of important functions, explanations were lacking for the distinctive shape of the appendix and its apparent lack of importance as judged by an absence of side-effects following appendectomy. William Parker, Randy Bollinger, and colleagues at Duke University proposed that the appendix serves as a safe haven for useful bacteria when illness flushes those bacteria from the rest of the intestines. This proposal is based on a new understanding of how the immune system supports the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria , in combination with many well-known features of the appendix, including its architecture and its association with copious amounts of immune tissue. Such a function is expected to be useful in a culture lacking modern sanitation and healthcare practice, where diarrhea may be prevalent. show that diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in developing countries, indicating that a role of the appendix as an aid in recovering beneficial bacteria following diarrhea may be extremely important in the absence of modern health and sanitation practices. in people with a neurogenic bladder.

Additional image

Image:Appendixcancer.gif|Mucinous adenocarcinoma of the appendix tip Further Information

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