Nels Benson, age 14, of Huntsville, Ala., for his question:

DOES THE APPENDIX HAVE A FUNCTION?

In the lower right hand part of a person's abdomen is a blind tube protruding from the first part of the large intestine, the cecum. It is the appendix, or more properly the vermiform appendix.

In man, the vermiform appendix probably has no function. Some medical people believe that it lost its function through evolution.

When inflamed, the appendix causes a disease known as appendicitis.

The appendix is a narrow tube, closed at one end. In addition to man, it is also found in the higher apes, some rodents and various other animals. Rodents, such as the rat, have long appendixes which function as digestive organs.