Apendix's

Todd

Virgin
Joined
Jan 1, 2001
Posts
6,893
Do we really need them? They just sort of sit there not doing a whole lot and they they rupture on you and they have to cut it out anyways. Why not do it at birth and get it over with.
 
Um, Todd, are you trying to speed up evolution on yourself? What's with the organ streamlining threads?
 
Mischka said:
Um, Todd, are you trying to speed up evolution on yourself? What's with the organ streamlining threads?

Just trying to put the board back in wack by driving down the over sized thread title ;)
 
You aren't a creationist, are you?

From a scientific perspective, your appendix does not "just sort of sit there not doing a whole lot". It actually has a function in fetuses, in young people, and throughout most of your adulthood. Its loss can make you less healthy then you might have been had it been allowed to remain and do the work it evolved to do.

During the 11th week of a fetus' development, endocrine cells are formed in its appendix. These endocrine cells produce all sorts of hormones that help to regulate and control further development of the fetus.

During a person's early years, the appendix helps with the development and maturation of a type of white blood cell, as well helping to produce a certain kind of antibody. White blood cells and antibodies are, of course, your body's front line defense in the fight against infection.

Among adults, the appendix remains involved in mostly immune functions. This reaches a peak between the second and third decades of life and, unfortunately, decreases pretty rapidly after that. It's practically gone after the age of 60.

The primary function of the appendix throughout our lives is to expose white blood cells to the wide variety of antigens, or foreign substances, that pass through our gastrointestinal tracts. It's in this way that the appendix helps to promote our overall immunity to a pretty wide assortment of antigens.

Here's how it works: Your appendix takes up little bits of these "stranger" antigens from the contents of the intestines, mixes them with white blood cells, and lets the mixture ferment. Antibodies are produced by the white blood cells in response to the antigens. If that antigen happens to be a bad guy (an unhealthy kind of food, drug, microbe or virus), the antigens are there like chemical soldiers that have been massed-produced by your body, ready to pick off the bad antigens if they try to make you sick.

Moral of the story?
All our parts evolved for some reason and most of our parts still fulfill an important function.
Don't fuck around with your parts.
 
cymbidia...

WOW...thanks for the health lesson! I always thought it was pretty much useless!
 
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