Photo: Tailed Indian boy.
The wings of a flightless bird and the eyes of a deep-sea fish are all manifestations of an evolutionary quirk called "rudiment." The existence of such excesses in the body is not justified by anything, but it is steadily transmitted from generation to generation. We will tell you about the most famous human rudiments and how they originated
Coccyx
The most famous rudiment inherited from ancient ancestors is the coccyx, a triangular bone formed by the fusion of 4-5 vertebrae. It once formed a tail, an organ for maintaining balance, which also serves to transmit social signals. As a person becomes an upright creature, all these functions were transferred to the front limbs, and the need for a tail disappeared.
However, in the early stages of development, the human embryo has a tail, which is often preserved. About one in fifty thousand babies gives birth with a ponytail that can be easily removed without consequences for the body.
Appendix
The appendix of the cecum (appendix vermiformis) has long ceased to play any role in the human body. Presumably, it served for long-term digestion of solid food - for example, cereals. The second theory is that the appendix played the role of a reservoir for the digestive bacteria, where they multiplied.
An adult's appendix is 2 to 20 centimeters long, but in most cases it is about ten centimeters long. Inflammation of the appendix (appendicitis) is a very common condition, accounting for 89 percent of all abdominal surgeries.
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Wisdom tooth
Third molars (molars) got their name for the reason that they erupt much later than all other teeth, at the age when a person becomes "wiser" - 16-30 years. The main function of wisdom teeth is chewing, they serve to grind food.
However, for every third person on Earth, they grow incorrectly - they do not have enough space on the jaw arch, as a result of which they either begin to sprout to the sides, or injure their neighbors. In such cases, wisdom teeth have to be removed.
Vitamin C synthesis
Lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the body can lead to scurvy with subsequent death. However, humans cannot independently synthesize this vitamin in their bodies, unlike most primates and other mammals.
Scientists have long assumed that humans had an organ responsible for the production of ascorbic acid, but confirmation of this was found only in 1994. Then a pseudogene was found responsible for the production of vitamin C, similar to that of guinea pigs. But in modern humans, this function is disabled at the genetic level.
Vomeronasal organ (VNO)
The loss of VNO functionality can be considered one of the greatest human evolutionary losses. This section of the olfactory system (also known as Jacobson's organ or vomer) is responsible for recognizing pheromones.
Pheromones play a dominant role in the social behavior of animals. With their help, females attract males, and the gentlemen themselves mark the territory under their control. Most of the emotions are accompanied by the release of pheromones - fear, anger, peace, passion. A person, on the other hand, relies more on the verbal and visual components of social communication, so the role of pheromone recognition is minimized.
Goose pimples
Goose bumps (cutis anserina) occur when the pilomotor reflex is triggered. The main motives for this reflex are cold and danger. In this case, the spinal cord produces excitement of the peripheral nerve endings, which lift the hairline.
So in case of cold, the raised hair allows you to keep more warm air inside the cover. If there is a danger, the increase in hairline gives the animal a more massive appearance. In humans, the pilomotor reflex remains a rudiment, since the thick hairline was lost in the process of evolution.
Male nipples
One of the earliest scientific theories suggested that nipples were a sign of a man's ability to breastfeed, which was lost through evolution. However, later studies showed that none of the males of our ancestors had such a function of the body.
Currently, it is generally accepted that nipples are formed at that stage of embryo development, when its sex is not determined. And only later, when the embryo begins to produce hormones on its own, it is possible to determine who will be born - a boy or a girl.