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> The appendix is a far more likely candidate for garbage collection as it has no obvious function

Preserving the gut microbiome through diarrhoea and vomiting.

I didn't know about that, but it seems a poor trade-off to me. Acute appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency in the world.

Yet most people never suffer it, while I'd assume 100% of the population suffered bouts of vomiting/diarrhea. Looks like the trade-off is alright.

Yeah, I suspect a lot more people have experienced diarrhea than appendicitis. If preserving gut bacteria is important enough, then the appendix clearly does have a function.

But it might not be that important at all; do people with an appendectomy struggle more to recover from diarrhea?

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