She had appendicitis at age 12. Now she's researching why the appendix matters

Back in the day, many of us heard that the appendix is a vestigial organ — at best, a body part that lost its purpose all those many years ago. At worst, an unnecessary clinger-on to the human body that, when ruptured, could be life threatening. But what if that narrative is wrong?

Heather Smith became obsessed with the appendix after hers was removed at age 12. After years of anatomy research, she's found that the appendix is not, in fact, useless.

Think it's time to give another part of the human body its due? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear about it!

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This episode was produced by Margaret Cirino and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. It was fact-checked by Brit Hanson. Gilly Moon was the audio engineer.