The cecum is a pouch-like structure of thelarge intestine, located at the junction of thesmall and the large intestines. The term "vermiform" comes fromLatin and means "worm-shaped". In the early 2000s the appendix was reassessed and is no longer considered avestigial organ.[1][2] The appendix may serve as a reservoir for beneficialgut bacteria.
The human appendix averages 9 mm (0.35 in) in length, ranging from 5 to 35 mm (0.20 to 1.38 in). The diameter of the appendix is 6 mm (0.24 in), any larger is considered a thickened or inflamed appendix. The appendix is usually located in the lower rightquadrant of theabdomen, near the righthip bone. The base of the appendix is located 2 cm (0.79 in) beneath theileocecal valve that separates the large intestine from the small intestine. Its position within the abdomen corresponds to a point on the surface known asMcBurney's point.
While the base of the appendix is typically located 2 cm (0.79 in) below theileocecal valve, the tip of the appendix can be variably located–in thepelvis, outside theperitoneum or behind the cecum.[6] The prevalence of the different positions varies amongst populations for example, the retrocecal position is most common inGhana andSudan, with 67.3% and 58.3% occurrence respectively, in comparison toIran andBosnia where the pelvic position is most common, with 55.8% and 57.7% occurrence respectively.[7][8][9][10]
In rare cases, the appendix may not be present at all (laparotomies for suspected appendicitis have given a frequency of 1 in 100,000).[11]
Sometimes a semi-circular fold ofmucous membrane appears at the opening of the appendix. This valve of the vermiform appendix is also calledGerlach's valve.[3]
A possible function of the human appendix is a "safe house" for beneficial bacteria in the recovery fromdiarrhea
Gut-associated lymphoid tissue is immune tissue surrounding the appendix and appearing elsewhere in the gut. It carries out several important functions. Initially, the appendix's distinctive shape and its apparent lack of specific function was judged by an absence of side effects followingits removal.[12]
William Parker, Randy Bollinger, and colleagues atDuke University proposed in 2007 that the appendix serves as a haven for usefulbacteria when illness or antibiotics flushes the bacteria from the intestines.[13][14] This proposition is based on an understanding of how the immune system supports the growth of beneficialintestinal bacteria,[15][16] in combination with other well-known features of the appendix, including its architecture, its location just below the normal one-way flow of food and germs in the large intestine, and its association with copious amounts of immune tissue.
Research in 2012 reported that individuals without an appendix were four times as likely to have a recurrence ofClostridioides difficile colitis.[17] The appendix, therefore, may act as a reservoir for beneficial bacteria.[13] This reservoir could repopulate thegut flora following a bout of gastrointestinal illness.[14]
The appendix is an important component ofmammalianmucosal immune function, particularlyB cell-mediated immune responses andextrathymically derivedT cells. This structure helps in the proper movement and removal of waste matter in the digestive system, contains lymphatic vessels that regulate pathogens, and lastly, might even produce early defence against disease. Additionally, this may provide immune defence from invading pathogens and stimulatingB andT cells to fight viruses and bacteria that infect that portion of the bowel and training them so that immune responses are targeted and more able to fight pathogens.[18] In addition, immune cells calledinnate lymphoid cells help the appendix maintain digestive health.[19]
A 2016 study reported a positive correlation between the presence of the appendix and the concentration of cecal lymphoid tissue, which supports the suggestion that the appendix has major immune benefits.[20]
Appendicitis is a condition characterized byinflammation of the appendix. Pain often begins in the center of the abdomen, corresponding to the appendix's development as part of the embryonicmidgut. This pain is typically a dull, poorly localized,visceral pain.[23]
As the inflammation progresses, the pain begins to localize more clearly to the right lower quadrant, as theperitoneum becomes inflamed. This inflammation, orperitonitis, results inrebound tenderness (pain upon removal of pressure rather than the application of pressure). In particular, it presents atMcBurney's point, 1/3 of the way along a line drawn from theanterior superior iliac spine to theumbilicus. Typically, point (skin) pain is not present until theparietal peritoneum is inflamed as well. Fever and an immune system response are also characteristic.[23] Other signs and symptoms includenausea and vomiting, fever,constipation ordiarrhea, abdominal bloating, orflatulence.[24]
Untreated, the appendix may rupture, leading toperitonitis, followed byshock, and, if still untreated, death.[23]
Appendectomy is the surgical removal of the appendix. This removal is typically performed as an emergency procedure in a patient suffering fromacute appendicitis. In the absence of surgical facilities,intravenousantibiotics are used to delay or avoid the onset ofsepsis. In some cases, the appendicitis resolves; otherwise, an inflammatory mass forms around the appendix. This is a relativecontraindication to surgery.
The appendix can also be used to access the colon in children with paralysed bowels or major sphincter dysfunction. The appendix is lifted from the abdomen and a catheter can be attached which allows the colon to be irrigated (via normal defecation).[26]
Charles Darwin suggested that the appendix was mainly used by earlier hominids for digesting fibrous vegetation, before evolving. The large cecum of some herbivorous animals, such as thehorse,rodents or thekoala, appears to support this hypothesis. The koala's cecum enables it to host bacteria that specifically help to break down cellulose. Human ancestors may have also relied upon to digest a diet rich in foliage.
As people shifted to eat more easily digested foods, the cecum became less necessary for digestion. Mutations that were previously deleterious lost their salience, which allowed them to survive. Thesealleles became more frequent and the cecum shrank. After millions of years, the human cecum became the appendix.[27]
Dr. Heather F. Smith and colleagues stated:
Recently ... improved understanding of gut immunity has merged with current thinking in biological and medical science, pointing to an apparent function of the mammalian cecal appendix as a safe-house for symbiotic gut microbes, preserving the flora during times of gastrointestinal infection in societies without modern medicine. This function is potentially a selective force for the evolution and maintenance of the appendix.Three morphotypes of cecal-appendices can be described among mammals based primarily on the shape of the cecum: a distinct appendix branching from a rounded or sac-like cecum (as in many primate species), an appendix located at the apex of a long and voluminous cecum (as in the rabbit, greater glider and Cape dune mole rat), and an appendix in the absence of a pronounced cecum (as in the wombat). In addition, long narrow appendix-like structures are found in mammals that either lack an apparent cecum (as in monotremes) or lack a distinct junction between the cecum and appendix-like structure (as in the koala). A cecal appendix has evolved independently at least twice and represents yet another example of convergence in morphology between Australian marsupials and placentals in the rest of the world. Although the appendix has been lost by numerous species, it has also been maintained for more than 80 million years in at least one clade.[28]
A 2013 study estimated that the appendix independently evolved in different animals 32-38 times but had been lost no more than six times.[29] A 2017 study of an updated database yielded similar results, with estimates of at least 29 gains and at most 12 losses (all of which were ambiguous).[30] This suggests that the cecal appendix has a selection advantage and is not vestigial. It appears to be associated with greater longevity.[31] For example, a 2023 study reported protective functions against diarrhea in young primates.[32][33]
That function may be particularly useful in the absence of sanitation and healthcare, wherediarrhea may be prevalent.Epidemiological data on the cause of death in developing countries collected by theWorld Health Organization in 2001 reported that acute diarrhea was the fourth leading cause of disease-related death in developing countries. Two of the other leading causes of death were claimed to have exerted limited or no selection pressure.[34]
^Paterson-Brown, S. (2007). "15. The acute abdomen and intestinal obstruction". In Parks, Rowan W.; Garden, O. James; Carter, David John; Bradbury, Andrew W.; Forsythe, John L. R. (eds.).Principles and practice of surgery (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.ISBN978-0-443-10157-1.
^Bakheit MA, Warille AA (June 1999). "Anomalies of the vermiform appendix and prevalence of acute appendicitis in Khartoum".East African Medical Journal.76 (6):338–40.PMID10750522.
^Denjalić A, Delić J, Delić-Custendil S, Muminagić S (2009). "[Variations in position and place of formation of appendix vermiformis found in the course of open appendectomy]".Medicinski Arhiv (in Bosnian).63 (2):100–1.PMID19537667.
^Zetina-Mejía CA, Alvarez-Cosío JE, Quillo-Olvera J (2009). "Congenital absence of the cecal appendix. Case report".Cirugia y Cirujanos.77 (5):407–10.PMID19944032.
^abRandal Bollinger R, Barbas AS, Bush EL, Lin SS, Parker W (December 2007). "Biofilms in the large bowel suggest an apparent function of the human vermiform appendix".Journal of Theoretical Biology.249 (4):826–31.Bibcode:2007JThBi.249..826R.doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2007.08.032.PMID17936308.
^Everett M.L.; Palestrant D.; Miller S.E.; Bollinger R.R.; Parker W. (2004). "Immune exclusion and immune inclusion: a new model of host-bacterial interactions in the gut".Clinical and Applied Immunology Reviews.4 (5):321–32.doi:10.1016/j.cair.2004.03.001.
^Zahid A (April 2004). "The vermiform appendix: not a useless organ".Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons--Pakistan.14 (4):256–8.PMID15228837.
^Laurin M, Everett ML, Parker W (April 2011). "The cecal appendix: one more immune component with a function disturbed by post-industrial culture".Anatomical Record.294 (4):567–79.doi:10.1002/ar.21357.PMID21370495.S2CID3237168.
