The vermiform (worm like) appendix is found in the lower right quadrant. It is attached to the colon (large intestine) at the cecum. It is thought that at one time the appendix was an extension of the cecum used to ferment fiber. While once thought vestigial, it apparently plays an important immunological role. First, it has numerous lymph nodules that are thought to help regulate the bacterial flora found in the large intestines both in monitoring the "good" bacteria in the colon and picking up any bacteria that survived the small intestine. Secondly, it is a reservoir for "good" bacteria. It harbors small colonies of beneficial bacteria that quickly repopulate the colon after bouts with diarrhea. From a histological standpoint, it resembles the large intestine more, with crypts off of the lumen instead of villi. However, like the small intestine, there are lymph nodules in the submucosal layer.
Photos 1-5 were taken with my phone in the spring of 2021. Photos 6-8 were were taken by me in 2009. Due to a red filter and not knowing how to use the camera software, the photos didn't come out that good but you can at least see the lymph nodules.Scroll through the pictures and compare them to the labeled picture.
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