Until a month ago, students learned in physiology classes that the appendix served no function.

However, this month researchers at Duke University Medical Center have suggested that the appendix serves an important role in protecting beneficial bacteria.

Prior to the Duke study, the appendix was thought to have been something evolution had yet to get rid of.

The appendix possibly served to digest fibrous, tough foods, such as tree bark, for our ancestors. Some scientists even suggested that future humans will not have an appendix.

“While there is no smoking gun, the abundance of circumstantial evidence makes a strong case for the role of the appendix as a place where the good bacteria can live safe and undisturbed until they are needed,” said Dr. William Parker, assistant professor of experimental surgery at Duke University and researcher on the project, in a press release.

The appendix is a twisted, worm-shape structure located off of the large intestines.

The new finding shows the appendix protects beneficial bacteria in the human gut.

“The appendix does have its function. However, it is a danger to our digestive system,” said Marc Shulman, staff physician at Thielen Student Health Center.

“Once it gets infected, we should take it out.”

The knowledge that we can live without the appendix is overwhelming. Most people are familiar with the organ due to appendicitis, or an inflammation of the appendix.

According to WebMD, 1 in 15 people in the United States will get appendicitis, which can be deadly. The most likely time it will strike is between the ages 10 and 30, and the only treatment is to remove the offending organ.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said about 300 to 400 people will die of appendicitis each year.

“Doctors encouraged people to get it out because it would only cause problems in the future,” said Dr. Barbara Krumhardt, lecturer in genetics, development and cell biology.

“People without their appendix will still have no problem. The beneficial bacteria are everywhere we are.”