Is the appendix a useless organ?

Filed in archive Cases on August 9, 2005

The NY Times talks about whether we need an appendix:

When I got back home, I began doing some research and found that each year, more than 250,000 Americans had appendectomies. The more I thought about that figure, the more absurd it seemed. Why should an organ fail in so many healthy people? What makes it more puzzling is that no one ever needs an appendix transplant. Appendix-free, I can expect a normal life.

(Zimmer, "The Riddle of the Appendix", NY Times, Aug.9)