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What was the originial purpose of the appendix/tonsils?After evolution rendered them useless, there is no longer a purpose for the appendix or the tonsils, but what were they originally used for, before they evolved?
Miguel H
The original use for the appendix was when man was a grass and plant eater and the appendix was necessary to break down the fibers and minerals in the grass for digestion. Evolution made it redundant.
The tonsils were part of the bodies defense mechanism to keep harmful bacteria out of the throat. I have never agreed with parents who routinely have their children's tonsils and adenoids removed because it's 'trendy'... if they become grossly infected, then they go... but not just for fun... like having the claws removed on the family cat.
leslienmatt06
The appendix doesn't serve a purpose. The appendix is attached at the end of the long intestine..some people get appendicitis because food and other bacteria get stuck in the appendix instead of going through the rest of the large intestine. The tonsils on the other hand serve as a protective mechanism. They are one of the many lymph nodes in the body that help fight bacteria from entering the body.
seidokan27
The human appendix and tonsils have no specific function. Like a whales rear fins, they serve as useless structures. These structures, in which serve no purposeful activity, are known as vestigial structures. These struyctures currently are vestigial and always have been.
rhcp rules
they were used to catch bacteria
Aingeal
tonsils are part of the immune system and the appendix helped aid in digestion when humans had a rougher diet
PH
There are a lot of things that seem useless.
No one has ever been able to give an explanation for pubic hair.
No one has ever explained why we lost our hair in the first place. We certainly still needed it in the northern climates, and would die to this day in most places on earth if we had to spend one or two nights in the cold while naked. Why would the slow and weak human being evolve to be the only being in the history of the earth that must kill another animal not for food, but to steal it's fur and wear it??? Makes no sense to me. Seems like such a fatal flaw in bodily design would make us less likely to succeed genetically, than otherwise.
Nerve cells which create severe pain are not needed, but certainly there.
abby j
First of all (in response to the person who posted above me) nerve cells responding to pain are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! Try putting your hand on a stove and tell me that without sensors you won't be in a hell of a lot of trouble (whether you feel it or not)
Secondly, the whole "vestigial structures" thing is the widespread idea (the leaves thing, etc). HOWEVER, they are important in development....they HAVE a function (which by definition does not make them vestigial). In a nutshell (as the people above me posted), the tonsils are a meanse of immunodefense, esp. in children, but one can be just as fine without them. The appendix is useful in a developing fetus. Lemme just give you one exerpt:
"As quickly as 11 weeks after conception, the appendix starts making endocrine cells for the developing fetus. Endocrine cells secrete useful chemicals, such as hormones, and the appendix endocrine cells secrete amines and peptide hormones that help with biological checks and balances as the fetus grows.
After birth, the appendix mainly helps the body stave off disease by serving as a lymphoid organ. Lymphoid organs, with their lymphoid tissue, make white blood cells and antibodies.
The appendix, by virtue of its lymphoid tissue, is part of a complicated chain that makes B lymphocytes (one variety of white blood cell) and a class of antibodies known as immunoglobulin A antibodies. The appendix also produces certain chemicals that help direct the white blood cells to the parts of the body where they are needed the most."
(http://www.livescience.com/health/060530_bad_appendix.html)
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Links to information about tonsillitis , including tonsillectomy.
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