Appendix has a function, according to Duke University study

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I have posted this earlier as a reply in one of my posts, but in case you weren't following that particular thread, I thought you'd find this interesting.. Goes to show you, just because we haven't found use for it, should it mean that it is a vestigial remnant of no use.... or a product of 'evolution' that just has no function....

:w:


Appendix has a function, according to Duke University study
Posted Oct 06, 2007 at 06:09PM by Rio S.

Listed in: Science
Tags: Duke University We have long wondered what the appendix is there for. We may have reached the end of the debate as a group of immunologists and surgeons from the Duke University Medical School think they've found the appendix' function.

Some thought that worm-like tube (located just where the the large and small intestine meet) had something to do with lymphoid cells while others thought that it became useless through evolution and has no function at all - making the appendix almost synonymous with vestigial. Vestigial organs are those that don't seem to have a function, like the tonsils for example, though many vestigial organs have been struck off the list as we find out that they *do* have functions.

The study from the Duke University Medical School produced a theory: the appendix "acts as a good safe house for bacteria." According to surgery professor and study co-author Bill Parker, the appendix' location in the digestive system supports the theory and it actually acts as a factory for good bacteria.

Imagine this, you get cholera or amoebic dysentery, all the useful bacteria dies off as a result. Then what? You need to get some good bacteria back. In modern society, you can pick those up from other people but imagine what it would have been like in the past when the entire region gets infected and the population wasn't so dense? According to the study, that's when the appendix kicks in; it "reboots" the digestive system's good germs.

Inflamed appendices should still be removed, according to Parker, since they can turn deadly once they pop. Makes one wonder though, are there any other differences between those who had their appendix removed and those who still have theirs? Because if there are any more, this writer's in trouble.

http://www.qj.net/Appendix-has-a-function-according-to-Duke-University-study/pg/49/aid/104308
 
I am glad you liked it... this is really huge.. but this is third party info. Will try to get the actual scientific article...
 
in Olden Times (50's) it was the belief that neither the appendix or the tonsils had any function and doctors were very quick to remove them. i've even heard of cases where a kid went in for one operation and they decided they might as well do the other one at the same time. (i was spared and still have both).
it's hard to imagine the arrogance of thinking that just because you don't know what purpose something has means that it doesn't have any!
i guess it goes with believing that just because you can't see something means it isn't real. :uuh:
 
Some 'scientists' are arrogant indeed.. but I must admit, that most are humbled by the wealth of information and are ready to do more research and abjure some of the readily accepted 'beliefs', re-invent and regroup.. and I can name many.. the point of interest is to always keep an open mind and that nothing is 100% etched in stone...
You'd be surprised about some of the awkward and strangely bizarre held beliefs in medicine.. for instance did you know that a hysterectomy (Surgical removal of the uterus) was used to treat 'hyster'ical' women?
and that female circumcision was used to treat lesbianism... lol and I won't even begin to tell you how TB and syphillis were treated in the olden days.. we have come along way.. but the key is never to be arrogant.. to accept limitations and to always be open to change...

peace!
 
yes, i knew about some of that - like about hysterectomy. i think there is still quite a bit of anti-woman bias in medicine.
isn't it funny how some people (including scientists) become more humble the more they learn and some become more arrogant?
 
It is the nature of man I guess no matter how well schooled.. sometimes we like to think that the more educated the more compassionate and understanding.. but nature sometimes overrides all else.. I have met with some real A**holes from all fields and all walks of life, luckily and I really do thank God for this.. they are a minority...
 
I too knew someone who passed away from appendicitis, and a medical student as that.. was really sad, he went to an Island for a week, a celebratory vacation before his last semester, experienced painful abdominal pain and low grade fever.. went to the hospital and the surgeons there were so unskilled, they couldn't find his appendix, and he died...

Just goes to show you this world is nothing... we make such big plans and get comfortable...
one minute you are on top of the world and your parents treat you to a week vacation for your achievements and excellence, three days later you are on the metal autopsy table tubes draining you of whatever is left of your body fluids, and by the weekend you are in the ground...

Sob7an Allah.. death is always a reminder---one should never lose site of the priorites.. Learn Quran, serve man, be good to your family... and be prepared to hand over your life at a moment's notice..

:w:
 
PurestAmbrosia said:
I have posted this earlier as a reply in one of my posts, but in case you weren't following that particular thread, I thought you'd find this interesting.. Goes to show you, just because we haven't found use for it, should it mean that it is a vestigial remnant of no use.... or a product of 'evolution' that just has no function....

:w:


Appendix has a function, according to Duke University study
Posted Oct 06, 2007 at 06:09PM by Rio S.

Listed in: Science
Tags: Duke University We have long wondered what the appendix is there for. We may have reached the end of the debate as a group of immunologists and surgeons from the Duke University Medical School think they've found the appendix' function.

Some thought that worm-like tube (located just where the the large and small intestine meet) had something to do with lymphoid cells while others thought that it became useless through evolution and has no function at all - making the appendix almost synonymous with vestigial. Vestigial organs are those that don't seem to have a function, like the tonsils for example, though many vestigial organs have been struck off the list as we find out that they *do* have functions.

The study from the Duke University Medical School produced a theory: the appendix "acts as a good safe house for bacteria." According to surgery professor and study co-author Bill Parker, the appendix' location in the digestive system supports the theory and it actually acts as a factory for good bacteria.

Imagine this, you get cholera or amoebic dysentery, all the useful bacteria dies off as a result. Then what? You need to get some good bacteria back. In modern society, you can pick those up from other people but imagine what it would have been like in the past when the entire region gets infected and the population wasn't so dense? According to the study, that's when the appendix kicks in; it "reboots" the digestive system's good germs.

Inflamed appendices should still be removed, according to Parker, since they can turn deadly once they pop. Makes one wonder though, are there any other differences between those who had their appendix removed and those who still have theirs? Because if there are any more, this writer's in trouble.

http://www.qj.net/Appendix-has-a-function-according-to-Duke-University-study/pg/49/aid/104308
Click to expand...

Well, I still have my appendix, but Tonsils are out. 30 years ago, I heard already about that, that people having their tonsils and appendix have a better and stronger immunic system
So are you sure, this news is really new?

Interesting reading though. It's always good to see, medecine is progressing.
 
your tonsils are part of your immune system -- I don't have access to my uptodate from this computer but will try to post a medical article on it later...your entire bowels as well.. trust me so much goes into keeping you functioning the way you are.. there is a whole factory.. people always ***** when there is a mal-function and they are out sick.. but even the high fever and the malaise are your body's way to prepare for an attack...
it is 4.29Am here and I am not my most lucid,, but here is a quick histological slide of the tonsils

GI062b-1.jpg

those heavy purple spots you see are riddled with lymphoid tissue.. migrating lymphocytes (An agranulocytic leukocyte that normally makes up a quarter of the white blood cell count but increases in the presence of infection).. the fact that they are numerous in the tonsil is because they are hard at work..

however sometimes when the tonsils get too inflammed as in even getting in the way of breathing as well as causing what is known as (dysphagia), they must be taken out.. it is a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.. your body has other sites for immune tissue.. the spleen is a big one but even that it taken out in people with hemolytic disease, RBC's naturally have a concave shape, if they are sickled or weak or any of the numerous anemias, your speeln tries to get rid of them as that is one of its jobs, but become very congested and sometimes visible on abdominal exam.. it is what is called spelnomegaly.. and can rupture, cause death, so obviousely must be taken out.. but it doesn't mean that people are better off without a spleen .. people without a spleen have a lower life expectancy than the general population.. you need your body the way it was designed :okay:

Anyhow Duke university has always been a leader in the latest medical research as well as John's hopkins and the campus is stunning :smile:

peace!
 
PurestAmbrosia said:
Some 'scientists' are arrogant indeed.. but I must admit, that most are humbled by the wealth of information and are ready to do more research and abjure some of the readily accepted 'beliefs', re-invent and regroup.. and I can name many.. the point of interest is to always keep an open mind and that nothing is 100% etched in stone...
You'd be surprised about some of the awkward and strangely bizarre held beliefs in medicine.. for instance did you know that a hysterectomy (Surgical removal of the uterus) was used to treat 'hyster'ical' women?
and that female circumcision was used to treat lesbianism... lol and I won't even begin to tell you how TB and syphillis were treated in the olden days.. we have come along way.. but the key is never to be arrogant.. to accept limitations and to always be open to change...

peace!
Click to expand...

There is also the fun doctors use to have giving lobotmies for just about everything, even for 'teenage angst'. Best case I can remember is Kennedies sister who despite being perfectly normal was given one because her parents felt she was too mouthy leaving her retarded.

They used to think of the processes as casually as giving out bandaids and recommended it for a lot of things.

I really dontunderstand how they didnt figure damaging your brain intentionally is NOT natural and would have serious side-effects. I guess this is what happens when you cant seperate medicine from the comercial.
 
Are labotamies (psycho surgery) still performed today? It's so inhumane, I don't understand how modern society ever permitted it.
 
at the time they actually thought it was modern.. removing part of the brain that caused psychosis was thought of as progressive.....
psychiatry, has always been an abstract field in medicine..A great deal of it is theoritical, but there is much progress...

Electro Shock Therapy still remains the most effective treatment for depression, and it is what is usually used in Suicidal patients or those refractory to other meds with a very high degree of success..

:w:
 

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