The Appendix Serves a Purpose After All

After being dubbed useless for so many years, new research at Duke University Medical Center has finally shown that the appendix may actually serve the purpose of being a safe place to store helpful bacteria.

Through observation and experiments, William Parker, PhD and Dr. Randal Bollinger, Ph.D. performed a deductive study on the appendix and reached the conclusion that the appendix stores a surplus of helpful bacteria to restore the helpful bacteria in the intestines if an illness wipes out all bacteria from the intestines.

In the past, while physicians have always been uncertain as to what the appendix's role in the body is, they have always known that immune system tissue lives inside of the appendix. In addition, the stomach and intestines contain different bacteria and enzymes to help digest food. Parker's research has now led him to believe that the appendix helps to protect the beneficial bacteria.

During the course of his extensive 10-year study, Parker has realized and documented that a biofilm exists in the bowel. A biofilm is a thin layer that is a combination of microbes, mucous, and immune system molecules. The biofilm covers the top of the lining of the intestines. His research concluded the biofilm in the intestines protects the beneficial microbes so that the harmful microbes cannot take root in the lining of the intestines.

Furthermore, his research has also shown that even more biofilms exist in the appendix than in the intestines. It is in the biofilms that the appendix houses a reserve of beneficial bacteria. When the body is taken by an illness that induces very severe diarrhea that flushes the body of all its bacteria, then the beneficial bacteria the appendix is storing can move from the appendix to the lining of the intestines.

This extra store of beneficial bacteria may only be necessary in less industrialized countries where they cannot afford sanitation and hygienic practices. In these areas, diseases that cause severe bacteria are much more common than highly industrialized countries.