Appendix's use studied at Duke University Medical Center
Eddie Zhang: The Chronicle (Duke)
Issue date: 10/18/07 Section: News
(U-WIRE) DURHAM, N.C. -For generations, children have been taught that the appendix is useless - at most, causing a trip to the emergency room and an impressive scar.
But that may not be correct, according to a team of surgeons and immunologists at the Duke University Medical Center who stumbled upon the function of the appendix while researching the immune system and bacteria in the gut. In a study published online in the Journal of Theoretical Biology last week, researchers proposed that the appendix serves as a "safe house" for commensal bacteria - "good bacteria" that aid in food digestion and prevents disease.
The gut is normally populated with these commensal bacteria, but in the case of diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery, the large intestine is purged of these helpful microorganisms, said study co-author Bill Parker, an assistant professor of experimental surgery at DUMC.
"The idea is that your flora gets contaminated and your body tries to flush it out," he said.
As a result, the appendix cultivates and repopulates the gut with these commensal bacteria, essentially restarting the digestive system.
But this does not happen often in industrialized countries, Parker added."Modern medical care and sanitation practices have pretty much rendered the function of the appendix obsolete," he said.
But that may not be correct, according to a team of surgeons and immunologists at the Duke University Medical Center who stumbled upon the function of the appendix while researching the immune system and bacteria in the gut. In a study published online in the Journal of Theoretical Biology last week, researchers proposed that the appendix serves as a "safe house" for commensal bacteria - "good bacteria" that aid in food digestion and prevents disease.
The gut is normally populated with these commensal bacteria, but in the case of diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery, the large intestine is purged of these helpful microorganisms, said study co-author Bill Parker, an assistant professor of experimental surgery at DUMC.
"The idea is that your flora gets contaminated and your body tries to flush it out," he said.
As a result, the appendix cultivates and repopulates the gut with these commensal bacteria, essentially restarting the digestive system.
But this does not happen often in industrialized countries, Parker added."Modern medical care and sanitation practices have pretty much rendered the function of the appendix obsolete," he said.
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