I read that researchers think they might have found a reason for the appendix:
"The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system....There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most are good and help digest food.
But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive system in that case.
The appendix "acts as a good safe house for bacteria,"
Also, the worm-shaped organ outgrowth acts like a bacteria factory, cultivating the good germs..
That use is not needed in a modern industrialized society.."
full article here
..........
I can't recall much more of my freind's experience with the Chinese doctors using acupuncture as anesthesia for his appendectomy, except that he was a bit leery of it--but decided it was best to go with what made his surgeons most comfortable.
The journalist James Reston had a similar experience when he went under the knife for appendix removal during Nixon's first visit to China in 1971. He tells the story here.
"The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system....There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most are good and help digest food.
But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix's job is to reboot the digestive system in that case.
The appendix "acts as a good safe house for bacteria,"
Also, the worm-shaped organ outgrowth acts like a bacteria factory, cultivating the good germs..
That use is not needed in a modern industrialized society.."
full article here
..........
I can't recall much more of my freind's experience with the Chinese doctors using acupuncture as anesthesia for his appendectomy, except that he was a bit leery of it--but decided it was best to go with what made his surgeons most comfortable.
The journalist James Reston had a similar experience when he went under the knife for appendix removal during Nixon's first visit to China in 1971. He tells the story here.
