Most people know only two things about the appendix: You don’t need it – and if it bursts, you need surgery fast. That basic story traces back at least to Charles Darwin, the English naturalist who ...

Many organs play important roles, but not all of them are required for survival. Some are removed because of injury, and ...

For more than a century, the human appendix has been written off as a biological relic, a shrunken leftover from plant-eating ancestors that serves no real purpose. That view is now outdated. A ...

FARGO -- Every part of the human body has some purpose, but it's easier than ever to get by with a few missing pieces. Rhonda Ketterling, Sanford Health's chief medical officer for the northern region ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. You may have heard that astronauts have their appendix removed before leaving Earth. After all, people say you can live without ...

MINNEAPOLIS — Stephen Colbert is away from late-night TV following emergency surgery last week — the comedian's appendix burst. That made us wonder: What does the appendix do for our body? And why are ...

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. It was the first day of spring break ...

For years, the appendix carried a reputation as the body’s most pointless organ. Doctors often removed it without hesitation, and textbooks labeled it a vestigial structure—something our ancestors ...

Common problems usually show up in common ways. But they often fool us when they show up with uncommon presentations. Gallbladder attacks classically show up as right upper abdominal pain occurring 20 ...