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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]
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]
Appendix testis, a vestigial remnant of the Müllerian duct; Epiploic appendix, one of several small pouches of fat on the peritoneum along the colon and rectum Appendix of the laryngeal ventricle, a sac that extends from the laryngeal ventricle; Mesoappendix, the portion of the mesentery that connects the ileum to the vermiform appendix
Those organs are typically functional in the ancestral species but are now either semi-functional, nonfunctional, or re-purposed. Scientific literature concerning vestigial structures abounds. One study compiled 64 examples of vestigial structures found in the literature across a wide range of disciplines within the 21st century. [73]
Although defined as "useless" in popular media, a vestige as defined in evolutionary biology may still have some use, but the use has since diminished. This definition is consistent with Wiedersheim, who said that vestigial organs are "wholly or in part functionless" (Wiedersheim 1893, p. 200) and have "lost their original physiological ...
In biology, an atavism is a ... Atavisms have been observed in humans, such as with infants born with vestigial tails (called a "coccygeal process", "coccygeal ...
Pages in category "Vestigial organs" The following 12 pages are in this category, out of 12 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ...
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.