Appendix (anatomy)

<p>The appendix (pl.: appendices or appendixes; also vermiform appendix;  cecal (or caecal, cæcal) appendix; vermix; or vermiform process) is a finger-like, blind-ended tube connected to the <a href="/facts/Cecum/SysL1JXX">cecum</a>, from which it <a href="/facts/Prenatal_development/VpV3S4lu">develops in the embryo</a>. 
</p><p>The cecum is a pouch-like structure of the <a href="/facts/Large_intestine/vQtlNBv9">large intestine</a>, located at the junction of the <a href="/facts/Small_intestine/1AQ8RJ4m">small</a> and the large intestines. The term "<a href="/facts/Vermiform/GGd9yMMK">vermiform</a>" comes from <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> and means "worm-shaped". The appendix was once considered a <a href="/facts/Human_vestigiality/YAfukGCq">vestigial organ</a>, but this view has changed since the early 2000s. A vast majority of research suggests that the appendix may serve an important purpose as a reservoir for beneficial <a href="/facts/Gut_bacteria/Xy1IWzSP">gut bacteria</a>. This is, however, speculation and there is no concrete evidence for the purpose of the appendix.
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Appendix (anatomy) open-in-new

Appendix (anatomy)