What was the use of the appendix in early humans?
477967
it has been suggested that it was used to get rid of poisons you ingested from ,and to digest, plants and uncooked animals. But, Currently, the function of the appendix, if any, remains controversial in the field of human physiology. The wall of the appendix, however, contains lymphatic tissue that is part of the immune system for making antibodies.\n\nHypothesized functions for the appendix include lymphatic, exocrine, endocrine, and neuromuscular functions. However, most physicians and scientists believe the appendix lacks significant function, and that it exists primarily as a vestigial remnant of the larger cellulose-digesting cecum found in our herbivorous ancestors. Some people note, however, that the pineal gland which only recently (around 1960) has been found to produce important chemicals like melatonin was once considered a "vestigial remnant" as well.\n\nThere have been cases of people who have been found, usually on laparoscopy or laparotomy, to have a congenital absence of their appendix. There have been no reports of impaired immune or gastrointestinal function.
502515
I think that early man (cavemen) had about as much hygiene as monkeys.  They were constantly on the move looking for anything to eat and not be eaten.  Life was very short and I don't think it was for some thousands of years before anything like hygiene was considered.  They didn't shave, bathe, wipe, have tissues to blow noses, etc.  They most likely had lots of skin problems including lice, ticks, and other parasites.  Not too glamorous.
1092117
this is a nice question\n&we can resolve the ans by the diff of current life & the life before 500 yrs\nthe biological changes wold be\n1 lose of appendix &nicetin membrane\n2 lose of the smallest fingures of legs\n\n\ntecnology will be much more advance\nwe might not go to office &schools
72962
Cuneiform scripts were some of the earliest forms of writing.  or  Writing done by impressing a pointed stick or reed into a clay tablet is often called cuneiform writing.\nCuneiform IS also the name of three bones in the human foot, but you said history, not anatomy.
365827
mostly because they are ill-informed (like the first 3 respondents to your question\n\nthe tailbone (coccyx) is quite useful; it serves to anchor and support musculature in the pelvic area that has more than a little to do with our form of locomotion and upright stature\n\nthe tailbone is not vestigial\n\nand if it were vestigial (virtually all of the examples of "vestigial" anatomy/organs cited (~ 200) in the literature around the time of the scopes monkey trial (1925) have since been found to be useful; it turns out that we called them vestigial simply because we didn't understand their use at the time, which further impeded our understanding of their use because who wants to waste their lives studying useless anatomical junk, which turned out to be a hindrance to the progress of medical science), it would still not even remotely explain evolution...\n\nevolution needs to explain the vast amounts of highly specific complex information required to go from goo to you via the zoo -- a huge amount of BRAND NEW highly specific complex information is required to explain that and so many other thousands/millions(?) of biological forms extant today\n\nallegedly "vestigial" organs/anatomy do nothing of the sort; they would only be (were they actually vestigial) further evidence of loss of information\n\nnatural selection happens, but it can only select from already extant information...\n\nit does not, can not explain the arrival of life; it can only touch on the areas of survival, death, and extinction\n\nhey, next we can talk about the allegedly "vestigial" vermiform appendix, which is also not vestigial, but rather useful :-)
322613
Highly unlikely... if you know how natural selection works. The appendix is not really a disadvantage to have so natural selection will never select against it. Just because it's useless doesn't mean it will go away. It's only when it's harms an organism's chance of survival and procreation will it be selected against. Rarely people get appendicitis and even fewer die from appendicitis nowadays.
313946
doctors and anceint methods used back then
358435
In human anatomy, the vermiform appendix is a blind ended tube connected to the cecum . It develops embryologically from the cecum. Currently, the function of the appendix, if any, remains controversial in the field of human physiology.\n\nHypothesized functions for the appendix include lymphatic, exocrine, endocrine, and neuromuscular functions. However, most physicians and scientists believe the appendix lacks significant function, and that it exists primarily as a vestigial remnant of the larger cellulose-digesting cecum found in our herbivorous ancestors. Some people note, however, that the pineal gland which only recently (around 1960) has been found to produce important chemicals like melatonin was once considered a "vestigial remnant" as well.
962307
the earliest i'd reckon is "clubbing" used by the earliest of men who fought and defended themselves from each other, and wild animals with thick sticks, or clubs. those who became skilled with clubs were designated hunters of the tribe when food was aplenty (later as warriors, when tribe wars began, for want of preferred territories, hunting grounds, etc.).\n\nwhy, even cain killed abel with a blow to the head using a club..
621385
Contrary to the popular belief that certain types of food cause appendcitis(infection of the appendix), the cause of appendicitis is not known. But the leading theory is that obstruction of the appendiceal orifice is the inciting factor. Obstruction may come from fecal matter lodged in the appendix, impaction of mucous, a small tumor (such as a carcinoid), worm infestation (pinworm etc,.) or even a small blood clot. Viral infections, which can cause ulceration of the lining, can also lead to obstruction of the appendix through proliferation of lymphatic tissue in its walls. A viral etiology is a possible explanation for seasonal variations in rates of appendicitis and clustering of cases.\nBut even today, most of the appendectomy are performed with a misdiagnosis of appendicitis...basically doctors get it wrong. But they do that because complications of appendicitis are life threatening. \nThe only way to treat Appendicitis is appendectomy (surgical removal of the appendix). No antibiotics or any sort will work.
278095
How did early mankind servive to perpetuate the human race to what it is today? There were no such things as pharmacies in those days. Besides, I know of many people, who are up in age, and they NEVER had anything seriously wrong with them in their entire life.
1081049
Many organisms possess vestigial structures that have no apparent function, but that resemble structures their presumed ancestors had. Humans, for example, possess a complete set of muscles for wiggling their ears, just as a coyote does (table 22.1). \n\nBoa constrictors have hip bones and rudimentary hind legs. Manatees (a type of aquatic mammal often referred to as "sea cows") have fingernails on their fins (which evolved from legs). Figure 22.17 illustrates the skeleton of a baleen whale, which contains pelvic bones, as other mammal skeletons do, even though such bones serve no known function in the whale. The human vermiform appendix is apparently vestigial; it represents the degenerate terminal part of the cecum, the blind pouch or sac in which the large intestine begins. In other mammals such as mice, the cecum is the largest part of the large intestine and functions in storageusually of bulk cellulose in herbivores. Although some suggestions have been made, it is difficult to assign any current function to the vermiform appendix. In many respects, it is a dangerous organ: quite often it becomes infected, leading to an inflammation called appendicitis; without surgical removal, the appendix may burst, allowing the contents of the gut to come in contact with the lining of the body cavity, a potentially fatal event.\n    \nThe skeleton of a baleen whale, a representative of the group of mammals that contains the largest living species, contains pelvic bones. These bones resemble those of other mammals, but are only weakly developed in the whale and have no apparent function.\n    \nIt is difficult to understand vestigial structures such as these as anything other than evolutionary relicts, holdovers from the evolutionary past. They argue strongly for the common ancestry of the members of the groups that share them, regardless of how different they have subsequently become. \nComparisons of the anatomy of different living animals often reveal evidence of shared ancestry. In some instances, the same organ has evolved to carry out different functions, in others, an organ loses its function altogether. Sometimes, different organs evolve in similar ways when exposed to the same selective pressures.
559586
We don't really know.\n\nThe appendix may play a role in allowingthe body to identify pathogens in the gut without mounting a major defence against them and  producing an immune reaction.\n\nThe appendix may also serve a role as a safe harbour for gut bacteria during intestinal infections so that the normal gut flora is never completely removed by infection.\n\nAn enormous amount of medical research has centered on the human appendix, but to date the specific function of the appendix, if any, is still unclear and controversial in human physiology.
893337
I had mine removed when I was young. I think it was sometime near when I had my tonsils taken out. Or was it my appendix?
611015
http://www.edugraphics.net/gh-human_anatomy/gh235.htm
814957
THere r many causses of appendicitis.\n\n1.Lodgging of food debris in d appendix during its passage through illeocecal junction.\n\n2. Invasion of appendix by ascaris (a human gut parasite)\n\n3. Infection through abscess from other organs like bladder, colon, urinary bladder etc......\n\nThere may b many other causes other than these major causes of appendicitis.....
882374
The tailbone is a vestigial structure, which means there is no use for it. The reason we have it is because at some point in our evolutionary line, an animal that humans evolved from had a tail. Over a very long period of time, and as we evolved into human beings (Homo sapiens), we grew out of a need for it, and it gradually decreased in size, becoming what is now our tailbone (coccyx).