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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]
Arrows show the vestigial structure called Darwin's tubercle. In the context of human evolution, vestigiality involves those traits occurring in humans that have lost all or most of their original function through evolution. Although structures called vestigial often appear functionless, they may retain lesser functions or develop minor new ones.
Such adaptations are termed vestigial. Many organisms have vestigial organs, which are the remnants of fully functional structures in their ancestors. As a result of changes in lifestyle the organs became redundant, and are either not functional or reduced in functionality.
Such is the case in whales, which have small vestigial bones that appear to be remnants of the leg bones of their ancestors which walked on land. [53] Humans also have vestigial structures, including the ear muscles, the wisdom teeth, the appendix, the tail bone, body hair (including goose bumps), and the semilunar fold in the corner of the eye ...
Thus the zoologist Newman stated in the Scopes Trial: "There are, according to Wiedersheim, no less than 180 vestigial structures in the human body, sufficient to make of a man a veritable walking museum of antiquities." Some of the vestigial organs or organs containing evolutionary vestigial structures, as listed on the article about him: Adenoids
Atavisms have been observed in humans, such as with infants born with vestigial tails (called a "coccygeal process", "coccygeal projection", or "caudal appendage"). [8] Atavism can also be seen in humans who possess large teeth, like those of other primates. [ 9 ]
A vestigial response or vestigial reflex in a species is a response that has lost its original function. In humans, vestigial responses include ear perking, goose bumps and the hypnic jerk . In humans
The young Robert Ernst Eduard Wiedersheim, probably in early 1874 by Alfredo Noack in Genoa. [1]Robert Ernst Eduard Wiedersheim (21 April 1848 – 12 July 1923) was a German anatomist who is famous for publishing a list of 86 "vestigial organs" in his book The Structure of Man: An Index to His Past History.