Ears to hear. Eyes to see. A nose to breathe and smell. And so on. However, the purpose of some parts of the human body is not easy to explain. Why, for example, do you need the tailbone, the hair on your legs?

Before Charles Darwin, scientists believed in all seriousness that rudiments were “created for symmetry” or “to complete the scheme of nature.” Darwin gave a more logical explanation: organs that do not help, but do not particularly interfere with the process of natural selection, gradually degenerate. By the way, the rudiments served as one of the proofs of the theory of evolution.

If all people without exception have rudiments, then atavisms are the lot of a select few. We are talking about features that were completely lost during the process of evolution (for example, a tail or thick hair throughout the body, like animal fur). Scientists explain the appearance of atavisms by the fact that their genes do not completely disappear during evolution, but only lose activity, and can manifest themselves under certain conditions. In the old days, people with atavisms were shunned or shown for money at fairs: “Hurry to see the amazing man-beast and the tailed child!” Today everyone understands that atavism does not make a person inferior. Moreover, such people often resort to the services of plastic surgeons.

Rudiments and atavisms are interesting and useful to biologists. By studying them, you can trace the path of evolution. Theoretically, rudiments and atavisms can benefit humanity as a species: the presence of “extra” entries in the genotype makes the species more flexible in adapting to changing conditions. However, why do we need low-functional, or even completely useless, organs? to the common man? Are they of any use or just a hassle?

Rudiments

The term “rudiment” in this meaning is widely used in Russian scientific literature, despite the fact that it is the opposite of its original meaning in Latin. In English-language literature, along with it, the more adequate term vestige, derived from Lat. vestigium - trace (in the literal and figurative senses of the word). It is also advisable in Russian to use the term vestigium to designate an organ that has secondarily decreased and/or simplified during evolution, so as not to confuse it with a rudiment - an organ that has not yet reached its final size and structure.

Charles Darwin's analysis of vestigial (that is, vestigial) organs and body parts contributed greatly to the formation of evidence base the origin of man from other representatives of the animal world.

In the 19th century, scientists counted about 180 rudiments. These included organs that are currently recognized as vital: knee menisci, thyroid, thymus and pineal glands. Today the list of rudiments has been significantly reduced. Opponents of the theory of evolution argue that humans do not have any unnecessary organ. However, most scientists agree that some organs have largely lost function, which allows them to be classified as vestigial.

A person, unlike a monkey, does not need a tail. He doesn't exist. However, the part of the spine that supports the tail remains - this is the tailbone. The coccyx consists of four to five small vertebrae located below the sacrum. In an adult, these vertebrae fuse into a single, sedentary structure.

Most people don't think about their tailbone. This rudiment does not help, but it does not interfere with life. In women, during childbirth, the tailbone bends back, allowing the fetus to pass through. However, sometimes the coccyx, being richly innervated, becomes a source of very unpleasant pain. They occur when it is excessively bent forward due to individual characteristics structures or injuries. What is characteristic: pain occurs after prolonged sitting, especially on a soft chair. Usually, to eliminate pain, it is enough to recommend that patients sit on a hard surface (in this case, the support is on the ischial tuberosities, and not on the tailbone) and undergo a course of physical therapy. IN in rare cases, When conservative treatment does not help, I have to surgically remove the tailbone.

What to do with the appendix so that it does not cause problems? Currently, prophylactic removal of the appendix is ​​considered unjustified: it leads to a decrease in immunity, and, in addition, like any operation on the abdominal cavity, it can cause the formation of adhesions. All that remains is to live with the appendix and hope that it does not become inflamed. By the way, Italian scientists have shown that breastfeeding reduces the risk of appendicitis: with a feeding period of 4 to 7 months, the risk is reduced by 10%, and with a feeding period of more than 7 months - almost 2 times!

Mammary glands in men

At hormonal disorders(for example, like by-effect taking certain medications or due to alcoholism), men's breasts can become enlarged and even produce milk. Treatment consists of eliminating the cause of the disorder.

Breast cancer is also possible in men, although it occurs 100 times less frequently than in women and has a much smaller social significance. Men, as a rule, notice changes in breast size earlier than women, so treatment is timely. Yes and cosmetic effect breast removal has less psychological significance for men.

Body hair

Wisdom teeth

Ear muscles

The only advantage of this rudiment is that the ear muscles can be used for a natural face lift using acupressure.

This anatomical structure owes its name to the fact that Charles Darwin mentioned it in his work The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection as an example of a rudiment. At the same time, Darwin himself called it Woolner's tip in honor of the English sculptor Thomas Woolner, who drew attention to the presence of this formation while working on the sculpture of Puck.

The gene that determines the presence of Darwin's tubercle is autosomal dominant, but has incomplete penetrance (that is, not every person who has this gene will have the tubercle).

Atavisms

back in the twenties they wrote about what important functions performs the so-called nictitating membrane. According to research, this formation plays important role, and without it “full visual function would be very difficult." In particular, " eyeball a person is capable of turning 180°-200°. Without the semilunar fold, the angle of rotation would be much smaller.” The semilunar fold “is a supporting and guiding structure that hydrates the eye, helping it move more efficiently.” “Another function of the semilunar fold is to collect foreign material that gets on the surface of the eyeball. To do this, the fold secretes an adhesive substance that collects foreign particles and forms a lump from them for the purpose of easy removal without the risk of scratching or damaging the surface of the eyeball.” This removal occurs in the following way: “If you keep your eye open, when it gets hit foreign body“, the eyeball will constantly rotate inside repeatedly, trying to throw the object onto the semilunar fold and further into the area of ​​the lacrimal caruncle... After several attempts, the eyelash is finally captured by the semilunar fold and moves to the skin at the inner edge of the palpebral fissure.”

The coccyx, which is called the "remnant of the reduced tail", serves as an important attachment site for certain pelvic muscles: “three to five small coccygeal bones are, without a doubt, part of a large support system, consisting of bones, ligaments, cartilage, muscles and tendons."

It is also said that the rudiments include “a special muscle that allows some people to move their ears and scalp.” In fact, the muscles of the outer ear, according to researchers, “are needed in order to provide the organ with increased blood circulation, thus reducing the risk of frostbite... Muscles are not just a contractile organ. They serve as glycogen storage and are actively involved in metabolism. If there were no muscles in the structure of the outer ear, its nutrition would be difficult.” As for individual cases strong development such muscles, then it is “just one of thousands of small individual characteristics that make each person unique.” At the same time, speaking about such cases of abnormal development of the subcutaneous muscles, it should be remembered that in monkeys - according to evolutionists, the closest relatives of humans - the ears are motionless.

Vitruvian Man, Leonadro da Vinci

The presence of vestigial organs, as is known, is one of the proofs of Darwin's theory of evolution. What kind of organs are these?

Organs that have lost their importance during evolutionary development are called vestigial. They are formed in the prenatal state and remain for life, in contrast to the so-called provisional (temporary) organs, which only embryos have. Rudiments differ from atavisms in that the former are extremely rare (solid hairline in humans, additional pairs of mammary glands, development of the tail, etc.), the latter are present in almost all representatives of the species. Let's talk about them - rudimentary human organs.

In general, the question of what is the role of rudiments in the life of a particular organism and what, in fact, should be considered as such, still remains quite difficult for physiologists. One thing is clear: vestigial organs help trace the path of phylogenesis. Rudiments show the presence of kinship between modern and extinct organisms. And these organs, among other things, are proof of the action of natural selection, which removes an unnecessary trait. What human organs can be considered rudiments?

Human coccyx diagram

This lower section spine, which consists of three or five fused vertebrae. It is nothing more than our vestigial tail. Despite its vestigial nature, the coccyx is quite important body(like other rudiments, which, although they have lost most of their functionality, still remain very useful for our body).

The anterior sections of the coccyx are necessary for the attachment of muscles and ligaments that are involved in the functioning of the organs of the genitourinary system and the distal sections of the large intestine (the coccygeus, iliococcygeus and pubococcygeus muscles, which form the levator muscle, are attached to them). anus, as well as the anal-coccygeal ligament). In addition, part of the muscle bundles of the gluteus maximus muscle, which is responsible for hip extension, is attached to the coccyx. We also need the coccyx in order to properly distribute physical activity on the pelvis

X-ray of wisdom teeth growing incorrectly

Wisdom teeth

These are the eighth teeth in the dentition, commonly referred to as the number eight. As you know, “eights” got their name due to the fact that they erupt much later than other teeth - on average at the age of 18 to 25 years (in some people they do not erupt at all). Wisdom teeth are considered rudiments: at one time they were necessary for our ancestors, but after the diet of Homo sapiens changed significantly (consumption of hard and tough foods decreased, people began to eat food that had been subjected to heat treatment), and the volume of the brain has increased (as a result of which nature “had” to reduce the jaws of Homo sapiens) - wisdom teeth resolutely “refuse” to fit into our dentition.

These “hooligans” among the teeth every now and then strive to grow at random, which is why they greatly interfere with other teeth and general hygiene oral cavity: due to the incorrect positioning of the “eights” between them and neighboring teeth, food gets stuck every now and then. And it’s not so easy for a toothbrush to reach wisdom teeth, so they are often affected by caries, which leads to the removal of the diseased tooth. However, when correct location Wisdom teeth, for example, can serve as a support for bridges.

Removed appendix

Appendix

On average, the length of the appendage of the cecum in humans is about 10 cm, the width is only 1 cm. Nevertheless, it can cause us a lot of trouble, and in the Middle Ages, “intestinal disease” was a death sentence. The appendix helped our ancestors digest roughage and, of course, played a very important role in the functioning of the entire body. But even today this organ is not at all so useless. Serious digestive function True, it has not performed for a long time, but it performs protective, secretory and hormonal functions.

Diagram of the muscles of the human head, the ear muscles are visible above the auricles

Ear muscles

They are the muscles of the head surrounding auricle. The ear muscles (or rather, what is left of them) are a classic example of vestigial organs. This is understandable, because people who can move their ears are quite rare - much less common than people who do not have a tailbone, appendix, etc. rudiments. The functions that the ear muscles performed in our ancestors are quite clear: of course, they helped move the ears in order to better hear an approaching predator, rival, relatives or prey.

Human body muscle diagram

Pyramidalis abdominis muscle

It belongs to the anterior muscle group of the abdominal region, however, in comparison with the rectus muscle, it is very small in size, and appearance resembles a small triangle muscle tissue. The pyramidalis abdominis muscle is a vestige. It is significant only in marsupials. Many people do not have it at all. For those who are the lucky owners of this muscle, it tightens the so-called white line belly.

Epicanthus - skin fold upper eyelid

Epicanthus

This rudiment is characteristic only of the Mongoloid race (or, for example, of the African Bushmen - the very ancient people on the planet, whose descendants, in fact, we all are) and is a skin fold of the upper eyelid, which we see with an eastern section of the eyes. By the way, it is thanks to this fold that the effect of “narrow” Mongoloid eyes is created.

The causes of epicanthus are not exactly known. But most researchers are inclined to believe that the skin fold on upper eyelid arose as a result natural conditions human habitation - for example, in conditions of severe cold or, on the contrary, deserts and hot sun, when epicanthus is designed to protect the eyes.

Diagram of the human larynx, number 5 indicates the Morganian ventricles of the larynx

Morganian ventricles of the larynx

This organ is a sac-like depression located between the true and false vocal folds on the right and left sides of the larynx. They are important for creating the so-called common resonator chamber, that is, a resonant voice. Apparently, our ancestors needed the Morganian ventricles in order to create a series of certain sounds and protect the larynx.

TO vestigial organs some others can also be included, in addition, among representatives certain races They may have their own rudiments that are not characteristic of other races. For example, steatopygia among the aforementioned Bushmen and related Hottentots is the deposition of large amounts of fat on the buttocks. In this case, fat reserves play the same function as the humps of camels.

In this article we will look at atavisms and rudiments: we will give their definitions and characteristics, and give examples. It should be understood that these are not synonyms. After reading this article, you will learn what the difference is between concepts such as atavisms and rudiments.

What are rudiments?

Rudiments are not parts of the body that turned out to be completely unnecessary. They have only lost, at least partially, their original purpose. Organs considered to be rudiments play a certain role in the functioning of the body. Try, for example, to take away the wings of an ostrich... Without them, will this animal be worse or better? The answer is obvious: although its wings are less functional than those of other birds, the ostrich needs them. Its wings, for example, allow it to maintain balance when moving.

Wings of a Kakapo parrot

The kakapo parrot is found in New Zealand. He, like an ostrich, cannot fly at all. However, it has small wings, the muscles on which are atrophied, as well as an underdeveloped keel. This animal is nocturnal. He runs on the ground and loves to climb trees. Nevertheless, he still does something from the life of birds. A parrot, when climbing to great heights, occasionally jumps, simply using its wings for gliding. However, this jump most often ends unsuccessfully. The "bird" often flops on the ground. The parrot is not capable of climbing trees. However, this is his main occupation. But it is fully adapted for flight, since the body of this bird is identical in design to other parrots (with the exception of certain aspects). But the kakapo cannot fly at all. However, he tries, which sometimes ends sadly.

Are rudiments necessary?

Thus, rudiments can be useful, but they are always a remnant of something that was much more effective in the past. This parrot's wings are vestigial because they have lost the ability (partially) to perform their former functions. It's the same story with the ostrich. He is no longer able to fly, but he still has wings (as well as hollow skeletal bones, which are typical for full-fledged birds).

Man is no exception here. We also have atavisms and rudiments. Examples of the latter are the appendix, which is an organ that is certainly useful. However, among our ancestors its significance was more significant - it played a more important role in the digestion of food. Therefore, the appendix is ​​a vestige. But sometimes it is somewhat more difficult to determine what role rudiments and atavisms play in humans. For example, answering the question why we need molars today is no longer so simple. It is known that the pain and troubles they cause sometimes force us to turn to a surgeon.

The importance of the appendix in the human body

One of the most famous human vestiges is, perhaps, the appendix. The concept of appendicitis (inflammation of this appendix) is closely related to it. In surgical practice, interestingly, operations for appendicitis are among the most common. The disease often conceals serious complications in the form of an abscess (an abscess of the abdominal cavity is formed) and peritonitis (covering abdominal cavity the tissue becomes inflamed).

However, the appendix also contains useful features. It maintains microbiological balance in the intestines, promotes adequate digestion, and also supports local immunity, since it contains a large number of lymphoid tissue.

What are atavisms?

One of the most important evidence of evolutionary theory is atavisms. They are found quite often and today are well studied. Atavisms are signs that appear in a certain individual and do not correspond to the species common in currently. These are traces that have been preserved because they were once natural to an individual that was at a lower stage of evolution. Over time, she improved her external and functional qualities, gradually getting rid of unnecessary signs. But traces of an old-style individual are preserved in the genetic code, which is why atavisms sometimes arise. They are present from birth in an individual and cannot be formed during life. This is often a hereditary trait.

From what ancestors can rudiments and atavisms appear?

The presence of rudiments and atavisms proves the existence of evolution. And now you will see this. Mammals, as well as birds, are without exception the ancestors of reptiles. In turn, reptiles were the ancestors of amphibians, amphibians - fish, etc. It can be argued that only from our ancestors can atavisms appear. However, parallel branches will not be able to influence each other in any way. For example, a person can have atavisms from mammals (fur, nipples, tail) and even reptiles (the so-called “snake heart”). As you probably already guessed, we also only have rudiments from mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish. And atavisms and rudiments from parallel evolutionary branches (in our case, birds) are impossible. Also, birds will never show signs of mammals, but they can show signs of reptiles. Thus, the presence of rudiments and atavisms in animals (as in humans) is not an accident, but a natural event, predicted by evolutionary theory.

Atavisms in humans

Examples of atavisms in human body The following can be cited.

1. Elongated coccyx, or caudal process. It appears as a result of the fact that, according to Darwin, man has common roots with the ape, which had a tail.

2. Thick hair. In humans, the abundance of hair on the face and body reveals signs of our ancestors. These characteristics allowed them to exist in different climatic conditions. Such cover began to decrease over time, but in some cases it transformed into atavism. This atavism is expressed in excess hair on the face (beard in women) and on the body (long thick hair).

3. There is an additional pair of nipples. The fact that man descended from a mammal is evidenced by the presence of three pairs of nipples on the body. These organs are often not functional, but there are cases when, along with the main ones, extra mammary glands also work.

Why do atavisms not appear in everyone?

Even if completely lost external manifestation trait, may still be preserved in the genome for a long time fragments of genetic “programs” that ensured development in ancestors of this characteristic. One of the main and, perhaps, the most intricate principles of regulation of gene function in the body is post-transcriptional control. That is, everything that the gene responsible for the development of this or that atavism has “accumulated” is “cleaned up” in developing cell embryo. Thus, an unnecessary sign is not formed. However, under special circumstances (extreme effects on the embryo, mutations), these gene programs can still work. This is when we encounter anomalies that can sometimes be deadly (for example, in the case of oval window, unclosed interatrial foramen).

The fate of the rudiments

Rudiments, by their genetic essence, are practically “unsuppressable”. Therefore, they are found in most individuals (for example, in humans - coccygeal vertebrae, molars, etc.). It is important to note that these signs usually do not cause significant harm to the individual. Perhaps they are even a potential basis for future development useful feature. It can be assumed that they will not be removed from the genetic code by evolution any time soon. Or they won’t even be confiscated at all.

Thus there is a big difference between such concepts as “atavism” and “rudiment”. The difference is that rudiments appear in almost all individuals, while atavisms appear only in some.

Charles Darwin's opinion

What does Charles Darwin think about this? The founder of evolutionary theory believed that atavisms and rudiments are the most important feature that humans, like other creatures, evolved into other species over time. Proponents of this idea were so carried away by the search for non-functioning organs that they found about 200 of them in the human body. Their theories are based on this moment were refuted. Of course, no one denies the existence of rudiments and atavisms, but their meaning is a controversial point. It has been proven that most of these organs have functional purpose. However, this does not exclude the possibility that the genetic predisposition, due to which atavisms and rudiments are formed (their examples are not limited to those presented in this article), is inherent in every organism.

We are talking about atavisms and rudiments - these concepts often coexist with each other, sometimes cause confusion and have different natures. The simplest and probably the most famous example, in which both concepts coexist, refers to, so to speak, the lower part human body. The coccyx, the end of the spine in which several vertebrae are fused, is recognized as vestigial. This is a rudiment of a tail. As you know, many vertebrates have a tail, but for us, Homo sapiens, it seems to be of no use to us. However, for some reason nature has preserved for man the remnant of this once functional organ. Babies with a real tail are extremely rare, but are still born. Sometimes it is just a protrusion filled with fatty tissue, sometimes the tail contains transformed vertebrae, and its owner is even able to move his unexpected acquisition. In this case, we can talk about atavism, about the manifestation in the phenotype of an organ that was present in distant ancestors, but was absent in nearby ones.

So, rudiment is the norm, atavism is a deviation. Living beings with atavistic deviations sometimes look frightening and because of this, as well as because of the rarity of the phenomenon, they attract great interest from the general public. But evolutionary scientists are even more interested in atavisms, precisely because these “deformities” provide interesting clues about the history of life on Earth.

The eyes of moles that live underground, as well as of proteas, amphibians that live in water in dark caves, are rudiments. There is little benefit from them, which cannot be said about ostrich wings. They play the role of aerodynamic rudders when running and are used for defense. Females protect their chicks from the scorching rays of the sun with their wings.

The secret hidden in the egg

None of them modern birds no teeth. More precisely, this: there are birds, for example some types of geese, that have a number of small sharp projections in their beaks. But, as biologists say, these “teeth” are not homologous to real teeth, but are precisely outgrowths that help hold, for example, a slippery fish in the beak. Moreover, the ancestors of birds must have had teeth, because they are descendants of theropods, predatory dinosaurs. There are also known remains of fossil birds that had teeth. It is not clear for what reasons (perhaps due to a change in the type of food or in order to make the body lighter for flight) natural selection deprived birds of teeth, and one could assume that in the genome of modern birds the genes responsible for the formation of teeth are no longer present left. But this turned out to be untrue. Moreover, long before humanity learned anything about genes, at the beginning of the 19th century, the guess that modern birds could grow something like teeth was expressed by the French zoologist Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. He observed certain outgrowths on the beaks of parrot embryos. This discovery caused doubts and rumors and was eventually forgotten.

And almost ten years ago, in 2006, American biologist Matthew Harris from the University of Wisconsin noticed teeth-like growths at the end of the chicken embryo's beak. The embryo was exposed to lethal genetic mutation talpid 2 and had no chance of surviving to hatch from the egg. However, during this short life In the beak of the failed chicken, two types of tissues were developed from which teeth are formed. The genes of modern birds do not encode the building material for such tissues - this ability was lost by the ancestors of birds tens of millions of years ago. The embryonic teeth of the chicken embryo were not like the blunt-ended molars of mammals - they had a pointed conical shape, just like those of crocodiles, which, like dinosaurs and birds, are included in the group of archosaurs. By the way, they tried to grow molars in chickens and succeeded when using the method genetic engineering introduced genes responsible for the development of teeth in mice into the chicken genome. But the teeth of the embryo that Harris studied appeared without any outside intervention. “Dental” tissues arose thanks to purely chicken genes. This means that these genes, which were not manifested in the phenotype, were dormant somewhere in the depths of the genome, and only a fatal mutation awakened them. To confirm his hypothesis, Harris conducted an experiment with already hatched chickens. He infected them with a virus artificially created by genetic engineering - the virus imitated the molecular signals that arise from the talpid 2 mutation. The experiment brought results: on the beak of chickens on a short time teeth appeared, which then disappeared without a trace into the beak tissue. Harris's work can be considered proof of the fact that atavistic traits are a consequence of disturbances in the development of the embryo that awaken long-silent genes, and most importantly, genes for long-lost traits can continue to be in the genome almost 100 million years after evolution has destroyed these traits. Why this happens is not known exactly. According to one hypothesis, “silent” genes may not be completely silent. Genes have the property of pleiotropy - this is the ability to simultaneously influence not one, but several phenotypic traits. In this case, one of the functions can be blocked by another gene, while others remain fully “working.”

Boas and pythons have so-called anal spurs - single claws, which are a rudiment hind legs. There are known cases of atavistic limbs appearing in snakes.

Strange vitality

It was possible to learn about toothy chickens and make a discovery almost by accident - all due to the fact that, as already mentioned, the mutation killed the embryo even before birth. But it is obvious that mutations or other changes that bring ancient genes to life may not be so fatal. Otherwise how to explain much more known cases atavisms found in completely viable creatures? Such atavisms observed in humans as multi-digitation (polydactyly) on the arms and legs, and multi-nipple, which also occurs in higher primates, are quite compatible with life. Polydactyly is characteristic of horses, which, when normal development They walk on one toe, the nail of which has turned into a hoof. But for the ancient ancestors of the horse, multi-digitation was the norm.

There are isolated cases where atavism led to a serious evolutionary turn in the life of organisms. Ticks of the family Crotonidae have atavistically returned to sexual reproduction, while their ancestors reproduced by parthenogenesis. Something similar happened in the hairy hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella) - herbaceous plant Aster family. Not everyone who is called tetrapoda in zoology is actually tetrapods. For example, snakes and cetaceans are descended from land-dwelling ancestors and are also included in the superclass tetrapoda. Snakes completely lost their limbs; in cetaceans, the forelimbs became fins, and the hind limbs practically disappeared. But the appearance of atavistic limbs has been noted in both snakes and cetaceans. There are cases when dolphins were found to have a pair of hind fins, and quadrupedalism seemed to be restored.

The vestigial pelvic bones of some cetaceans have long lost their original function, but their uselessness has been questioned. This vestige not only reminds us that whales evolved from quadrupeds, but also plays an important role in the process of reproduction.

More bone - more offspring

However, something else reminds us of quadrupedality in whales, and here we move on to the area of ​​rudiments. The fact is that some species of cetaceans have preserved rudiments of the pelvic bones. These bones have long been no longer connected to the spine, and therefore to the skeleton as a whole. But what made nature preserve information about them in the genetic code and pass it on to inheritance? This is the main mystery of the whole phenomenon called rudimentation. According to modern scientific ideas, rudiments cannot always be spoken of as superfluous or useless organs and structures. Most likely, one of the reasons for their preservation is precisely that evolution has found a new use for the rudiments, which was not previously typical. In 2014, American researchers from the University of South Carolina published an interesting work in the journal Evolution. Scientists examined the size of the pelvic bones of whales and came to the conclusion that these sizes correlate with the size of the penises, and the muscles of the penis are attached precisely to the rudimentary pelvic bones. Thus, the size of the whale’s genital organ depended on the size of the bone, and a large penis predetermined success in reproduction.

The same is with the human coccyx, which was mentioned at the beginning of the article. Despite its rudimentary origin, this part of the spine has many functions. In particular, the muscles involved in control are attached to it genitourinary system, as well as part of the bundles of the gluteus maximus muscle.

Appendix - appendix cecum - sometimes causes a lot of trouble for a person, becoming inflamed and causing the need surgical intervention. In herbivores, it is of considerable size and was "engineered" to serve as a kind of bioreactor for the fermentation of cellulose, which is a building material plant cells, but is poorly digested. In the human body, the appendix does not have such a function, but it has another. The intestinal appendix is ​​a kind of nursery for coli, where the original cecal flora is kept intact and multiplies. Removal of the appendix entails a deterioration in the condition of the microflora, to restore which it is necessary to use medications. This organ also plays a role in immune system body.

It is much more difficult to see the benefit of such rudiments as, for example, ear muscles or wisdom teeth. Or the eyes of moles - these organs of vision are rudimentary and do not see anything, but can become the “gateway” of infection. Nevertheless, there is clearly no need to rush to declare something in nature superfluous.