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Ileum, caecum and colon of rabbit, showing Appendix vermiformis on fully functional caecum The human vermiform appendix on the vestigial caecum. The appendix was once believed to be a vestige of a redundant organ that in ancestral species had digestive functions, much as it still does in extant species in which intestinal flora hydrolyze cellulose and similar indigestible plant materials. [10]
In humans, the vermiform appendix is sometimes called a vestigial structure as it has lost much of its ancestral digestive function.. Vestigiality is the retention, during the process of evolution, of genetically determined structures or attributes that have lost some or all of the ancestral function in a given species. [1]
Vestigial structures are anatomical structures of organisms in a species which are considered to have lost much or all of their original function through evolution. [8] These body parts can be classed as additional to the required functioning of the body. In human anatomy, the vermiform appendix is sometimes classed as a vestigial remnant.
Hospital lengths of stay typically range from a few hours to a few days but can be a few weeks if complications occur. The recovery process may vary depending on the severity of the condition: if the appendix had ruptured or not before surgery. Appendix surgery recovery is generally much faster if the appendix does not rupture. [99]
If a structure was once called vestigial, but is now known to be functional, then calling it "Functioning Vestigial Structures" violates the definition of vestigial, because by definition, it is not vestigial. It was previously called vestigial, but that was a mistake. It is not correct to call the vermiform appendix vestigial.
A Meckel's diverticulum, a true congenital diverticulum, is a slight bulge in the small intestine present at birth and a vestigial remnant of the vitelline duct.It is the most common malformation of the gastrointestinal tract and is present in approximately 2% of the population, [1] with males more frequently experiencing symptoms.
It is also called appendicolith when it occurs in the appendix and is sometimes concurrent with appendicitis. [1] They can also obstruct diverticula. It can form secondary to fecal impaction. A fecaloma is a more severe form of fecal impaction, and a hardened fecaloma may be considered a giant fecalith. The term is from the Greek líthos=stone. [2]
Amyand's hernia is a rare form of an inguinal hernia (less than 1% of inguinal hernias) [2] which occurs when the appendix is included in the hernial sac and becomes incarcerated. The condition is an eponymous disease named after a French surgeon, Claudius Amyand (1660–1740), [3] who performed the first successful appendectomy in 1735. [4]