The primate caecum and appendix vermiformis: a comparative study

Abstract

The examination of the caecum of two groups of cynomolgus and rhesus monkeys, two orang-utans and a chimpanzee, as well as an extensive review of the available literature, confirmed that the length of the caecum, relative to that of the colon, decreased as the position of the species in the primate scale rose. Although absent in prosimians and New World monkeys, there was evidence that the appendix vermiformis began to develop in certain Old World monkeys and became fully developed in the anthropoid apes, showing that, far from being a vestigial organ, it has actually developed progressively in primates.