The appendix is an organ we tend not to think about until it acts up, causes illness and needs to be removed surgically.

Many Americans grew up with the idea their appendix is an unnecessary organ, made obsolete by evolution. But in the last 20 years or so, scientists have come to believe the appendix serves a purpose, ...

Pity the poor appendix, a 2- to 4-inch-long wormlike pouch dangling from the head of the cecum, where the large and small intestines meet. For most of its medical history — anatomists have known about ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Phil Starks, Tufts University and Lilia Goncharova, Tufts University (THE CONVERSATION ...

Sudden stomachache, nausea and fever are all symptoms most linked to indigestion or food poisoning. People rarely take into consideration the possibility of a more serious underlying cause. In its ...

(THE CONVERSATION) 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 ...