From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2007-09-28 23:50:08 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: ferrets don't have an appendix??
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
On appendix and caecum functions:
http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?
articleID=000CAE56-7201-1C71-9EB7809EC588F2D7
1999
> For years, the appendix was credited with very little physiological
> function. We now know, however, that the appendix serves an
> important role in the fetus and in young adults.
...
> the appendix is now thought to be involved primarily in immune
> functions
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/vestiges/appendix.html
> The wall of the appendix is composed of all layers typical of the
> intestine, but it is thickened and contains a concentration of
> lymphoid tissue. Similar to the tonsils, the lymphatic tissue in
> the appendix is typically in a constant state of chronic
> inflammation...
> Our appendix is a developmental derivative and evolutionary vestige
> of the end of the much larger herbivorous caecum...
> The word "caecum" actually means "blind" in Latin, reflecting the
> fact that the bottom of the caecum is a blind pouch (a dead-end or
> cul-de-sac).
> In most vertebrates, the caecum is a large, complex
> gastrointestinal organ, enriched in mucosal lymphatic tissue (Berry
> 1900), and specialized for digestion of plants (see Figure 2;
> Kardong 2002, pp. 510-515). The caecum varies in size among
> species, but in general the size of the caecum is proportional to
> the amount of plant matter in a given organism's diet. It is
> largest in obligate herbivores, animals whose diets consist
> entirely of plant matter. In many herbivorous mammals the caecum is
> as large as the rest of the intestines, and it may even be coiled
> and longer than the length of the entire organism (as in the
> koala). In herbivorous mammals, the caecum is essential for
> digestion of cellulose, a common plant molecule. The caecum houses
> specialized, symbiotic bacteria that secrete cellulase, an enzyme
> that digests cellulose. Otherwise cellulose is impossible for
> mammals to digest.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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