Drawing upon a series of observations and experiments, Duke
University Medical Center investigators postulate that the beneficial
bacteria in the appendix that aid digestion can ride out a bout of
diarrhea that completely evacuates the intestines and emerge afterwards
to repopulate the gut.
"While there is no smoking gun, the abundance of circumstantial
evidence makes a strong case for the role of the appendix as a place
where the good bacteria can live safe and undisturbed until they are
needed," said William Parker, Ph.D., assistant professor of experimental
surgery, who conducted the analysis in collaboration with R. Randal
Bollinger, M.D., Ph.D., Duke professor emeritus in general surgery.
The appendix is a slender two- to four-inch pouch located near the juncture of the large and small intestines. While its exact function in humans has been debated by physicians, it is known that there is immune system tissue in the appendix.
"While there is no smoking gun, the abundance of circumstantial
evidence makes a strong case for the role of the appendix as a place
where the good bacteria can live safe and undisturbed until they are
needed," said William Parker, Ph.D., assistant professor of experimental
surgery, who conducted the analysis in collaboration with R. Randal
Bollinger, M.D., Ph.D., Duke professor emeritus in general surgery. The appendix is a slender two- to four-inch pouch located near the juncture of the large and small intestines. While its exact function in humans has been debated by physicians, it is known that there is immune system tissue in the appendix.
