The Appendix

While a dog’s body shares many similar body features with humans, the appendix is one exception. This is due to the fact that dogs do not have an appendix! In humans, the appendix is a narrow, tube-shaped structure that protrudes from the cecum, a pouch-like portion at the beginning of the large intestine. The term appendix comes from the Latin word “appendix” meaning appendage, an addition at the end. Although scientists have long discounted the human appendix as a vestigial organ, there is a growing body of evidence indicating that the appendix does in fact play a part of the human body’s immune system.