Hidden Functions: The Surprising Role of “Useless” Organs
Originally published by A Voice For Choice Advocacy on March 27, 2025.
EDITOR’S SUMMARY: Your body has a way of signaling its needs—hunger, pain, fatigue. Every organ, pathway, and function may serve a purpose beyond what’s immediately understood. When inflammation flares, pain and dysfunction can demand attention, sometimes requiring invasive intervention. But for many forms of discomfort and imbalance, gentle, natural approaches—easily implemented at home—may offer the most effective and compassionate solutions.
By Tracy Reilly
If you battled frequent infections as a child—or if your little one seems to come down with strep throat multiple times a year—you’re probably no stranger to the idea of having tonsils removed. If you've had appendicitis, chances are you've parted ways with your appendix. Since Darwin’s days, doctors have primarily thought of these organs as vestigial—parts of the body no longer needed, but still around because evolution (in this case, dropping these parts) takes time. However, scientists have begun to find these “leftovers” may serve a purpose. Of course, in certain situations, removing organs can be necessary, but it’s worth asking questions to see if there’s another way, given the current research on these formerly throwaway parts. Your body is an impressively designed machine—whether it’s precisely timed heart valves, hairs in your nose to catch germs before they spread, or your immune system’s ability to turn up the heat to help defeat a pathogen. Research has a way of catching up to nature, and just because humans have yet to crack the reason for every body part doesn’t mean they don’t all serve a role.
Understanding the Mechanics
Your tonsils, adenoids, and appendix are components of your lymphatic system. Together, the tonsils and adenoids are known as Waldeyer’s ring, due to their forming a circle of protection around the interior of your mouth and nose, capturing germs and bacteria that try to enter the body. They don’t just catch germs—they also analyze the invaders and send information to your immune system to produce antibodies, which is especially important in childhood when immunity is still maturing. Your adenoids take on air-filtering duties—they’re actually a type of tonsil (pharyngeal) located higher in the throat, behind your nose, not visible without a rhinoscope. Adenoids are most active in early childhood and typically begin shrinking around age five, continuing to do so until your teenage years when they settle into and remain their small size. You likely only notice your tonsils when you have a sore throat and it becomes difficult or painful to swallow. But whether they’re working through an illness, or quietly functioning unnoticed, they’re providing a valuable service on the front lines of your immune system. Not only does their proximity to your ear, nose, and throat put them in a prime location for intercepting incoming pathogens, but their function is more advanced than just grabbing the “bad guys.”
Among other functions, your tonsils produce cytokines, the signaling proteins that help your body determine the intensity and duration of the response needed. This ability to communicate with the rest of your immune system, including lymph nodes and the spleen, is crucial in building both acute and lasting immunity. Once your tonsils catch an invader, specialized cells in their lymph tissue analyze its antigens and use that information to produce antibodies to fight the infection. After neutralizing the pathogen, your body keeps a memory of the antigens, facilitating a faster response if they invade again in the future. The position of your tonsils as gatekeepers is advantageous, but that doesn’t mean you’re left defenseless if they are removed. Your remaining lymph tissues seem to step up, taking on some of the tonsils' roles. Being new to the world, children’s bodies are constantly exposed to pathogens that may be unfamiliar to their immune systems. This makes them more prone to infections, and for some kids, recurring ones. If a child suffers more than seven bouts of strep throat over the span of a year, tonsil removal (tonsillectomy) may be recommended. If their tonsils have swelling issues that disrupt or endanger their breathing, that’s another indication that removal may be warranted. Since children typically go on to have normal lifespans after a tonsillectomy, often with far fewer bouts of illness, it’s believed that tonsils may not be that important.
However, if you're considering removal, it's important to weigh the potential unintended effects of the procedure. For example, a Korean study from 2021, “The Associations of Tonsillectomy with Adenoidectomy with Pneumonia and Appendicitis Based on National Sample Cohort Data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service,” showed that children whose tonsils and adenoids were removed were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with pneumonia than those who hadn’t undergone this surgery. Although they suffered from pneumonia more frequently, there was fortunately no increase in hospitalization compared to the latter group. A recent Australian study of 1.2 million children, “Association of Long-Term Risk of Respiratory, Allergic, and Infectious Diseases With Removal of Adenoids and Tonsils in Childhood,” found that tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (the adenoids are often removed along with tonsils) before age nine were linked to increased risks of upper respiratory tract diseases (18.6% and 10.7%, respectively). Having both the adenoids and palatine tonsils removed (adenotonsillectomy) resulted in a 17% increased relative risk of infectious diseases. Given that such illnesses are commonly seen in the population, calculating the absolute risk shows a lower increase of 2.14%.
But do these surgeries address the initial problem? Yes and no. If you sought treatment for a sleep-related issue, the researchers' finding that adenoidectomies significantly reduce the risk of sleep disorders is reassuring. Similarly, if you were seeking relief from recurring tonsillitis, removal of these organs showed marked improvement there. On the other hand, if your issue involves abnormal breathing or sinusitis, tonsil or adenoid removal may not provide relief, as scientists found no significant change in these risks. Further, any removal showed a significantly increased risk of ear infections (by 2- to 5-fold), and if both tonsils and adenoids were removed, the risk of sinusitis increased. More recent studies have explored whether or not there’s a link between tonsil or adenoid removal and cancer. A study out of Scandinavia, “Cancer risk following surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids — a population-based, sibling-controlled cohort study in Sweden,” published in 2023 showed a slightly higher risk of any cancer, and in particular, a statistically significant positive association with pancreatic, breast, prostate, kidney, thyroid, lymphoma, and leukemia after tonsil or adenoid removal. While this laundry list of cancers may send you running from the operating table, the researchers point out that it’s uncertain whether the removal of these immune-related organs are solely to blame, or whether the immune systems of certain people are simply more prone to inflammation. If you have your tonsils and adenoids removed due to frequent, severe bouts of tonsillitis or sleep disturbances, it’s unclear whether this disrupts your immune system’s function, weakening its ability to fight inflammation. Alternatively, your immune system may already be susceptible to inflammation, which could explain the chronic infections in the first place. Science has yet to provide an answer.
When it comes specifically to breast cancer, multiple studies have shown a link between the disease and tonsillectomy. One review, “Tonsillectomy and breast cancer risk in the Western New York Diet Study,” found that the increased risk was observed among premenopausal women only. A Taiwanese study of over 4,000 people, “A nationwide population-based cohort study on tonsillectomy and subsequent cancer incidence,” also found a marginally higher risk of breast cancer in those whose tonsils were removed. A more recent study of over 2200 breast cancer patients, “Prior Tonsillectomy and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Females: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis,” showed increased risk for those who’d undergone tonsillectomy with no pre- or post-menopausal status mentioned. The researchers point out that the increased risk may not be a direct cause of the actual procedure:
“Tonsillectomy could be directly associated with cancer risk, or it could be a proxy for another risk factor such as recurrent infections and chronic inflammation.” In other words, “those individuals who develop cancer, have not only predisposing factors but an altered immune function too. This may have made them more susceptible to inflammatory conditions in childhood, like tonsillitis, leading them to have a tonsillectomy.”
Lower down the lymphatic system sits your appendix. Like the tonsils and adenoids, this tiny tubular pouch, located next to the cecum of the large intestine, is rich in lymph tissue. For years, the appendix was thought to be a useless vestige, meaning its removal in the event of appendicitis was inconsequential. Darwin supported the vestigial organ theory, suggesting that as primates switched from a tough, leaf-based diet to a simpler, fruit-based one, the cecum—and by extension, the appendix—shrunk due to a reduced need for digestive help. In 1928, Dr. Miles J. Breuer went so far as to declare that nature was attempting to eliminate the appendix, and that surgeons who removed an infected appendix to save a patient's life were, in his view, interfering with this natural process. This perspective reflected the flawed eugenics beliefs of the time, which suggested that certain natural processes, even at the expense of individuals' lives, should not be disrupted.
Fortunately, modern medicine providers don’t just let a patient die so humans can finally be rid of the dumb ol’ appendix. On the contrary, scientists have found evidence that ties the importance of this organ to the very fact that it hasn’t disappeared through evolution. Midwestern University researchers took on the hefty task of scouring through 11 million years of mammalian history, tracking the emergence, disappearance, and evolution of the appendix across 533 mammal species. In doing so, they observed that the appendix has evolved over 30 separate times and very rarely disappears once it’s emerged in a species. This finding is indicative of an adaptive purpose:
“They found that species that had retained or regained an appendix had higher average concentrations of lymphoid (immune) tissue in the cecum–a small pouch connected to the junction of the small and large intestines. This suggests that the appendix could play an important role in a species’ immune system, particularly as lymphatic tissue is known to stimulate the growth of certain types of beneficial gut bacteria.”
Rather than being useless, the scholars posit that the appendix may actually be co-evolving with the cecum as part of a system they call the “cecal appendicular complex.” If this tiny organ is so important, its main function is likely to serve as a safe house for beneficial gut bacteria, according to appendix experts. When you have a bout of diarrhea or other intestinal “episode,” the good bacteria retreat to the appendix, reemerging afterward to help recolonize good bacteria in your gut. While part of the assumption that this organ is useless may have been based on its location—appearing like a shrunken, dangling remnant that just won’t let go of the intestine—modern researchers suggest its location may actually be key to its function. Dr. Indi Trehan, a pediatrician studying gut bacteria in St. Louis, MO, sees it this way: “The appendix has a unique anatomical location that is out of the way. Bacteria can be kept safe there for repopulation as needed.”
Outside of the occasional emergency shelter-in-place situation, on a day-to-day basis, the bacteria in the appendix help train the immune system to defeat harmful pathogenic bacteria. Within your bowel is a thin layer of “biofilm,” a lining composed of microbes, mucous, and immune system molecules. Your immune system helps protect and nourish the good microbes within this biofilm, ideally leaving the bad microbes no place to live. Researchers studying biofilms found that they are “most pronounced in the appendix and their prevalence decreases moving away from it.” What happens, then, if your appendix becomes obstructed or infected, resulting in appendicitis, which occurs in approximately five percent of Americans? Of course, if the inflammation is severe enough that your appendix is at risk of rupturing, you’d be grateful for a surgeon to swiftly remove the troubled organ. However, there are mild, uncomplicated cases of appendicitis in which antibiotics can suffice in treating the infection, leaving your organ to resume its job after recovery.
Benign condition: Some surgeons might side against antibiotics, arguing that an appendectomy is the best course of action even for an uncomplicated infection. A group of physicians who published a study in JAMA Surgery asserted that patients who opted to avoid surgery and use antibiotics instead were “twice as likely to have to come back with a flare-up,” as an NBC article, “Skipping surgery may not always be best for appendicitis,” reported. Upon looking at the actual study data, however, the numbers are a bit less alarming: 2.6% of patients who took the antibiotic route were later readmitted compared to 1.2% of those who chose surgery. While it’s true that the nonsurgical group was “twice as likely,” the risk was still a mere 2.6%. The surgeons also compared the financial impact of antibiotics versus surgery and declared that “when you look at the long-term cost, which our study did, it ends up being more expensive.” This, too, is technically true, but if you refer to the details of the study, you see their average cost for those who required further treatment after refusing an appendectomy was $14,934 compared to $14,186 for those who chose to go under the knife from the get-go—a difference of less than $800.
Since the tonsils and appendix are both part of the lymphatic system, and one of its primary functions is immune surveillance, what happens if you wind up having one, or both, removed as a kid? Researchers out of Sweden who looked at health records of every resident born between 1955 and 1970 found that those whose tonsils or appendix were removed before age 20 were, respectively, 44% and 33% more likely to suffer a premature heart attack (acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The risk was even greater if both the tonsils and appendix were removed. Additionally, there was no increased heart attack risk associated with such organ removal if the procedure was done after age 20. While this kind of finding certainly merits further research, the study’s authors emphasize:
“The absolute numbers of AMI cases in the study are small, with only slightly more than 400 and 200 total cases of AMI in more than 7.5 million and nearly 4 million person-years of follow-up. ‘The observed moderate increases in relative risk actually corresponded to very small risk increases in absolute terms.’”
Decisions Within Your Grasp
If you, or perhaps your child, happen to be one of those whose appendix or tonsils were given the boot, while you no longer have the first line of defense they provide, certain studies do show benefits to their removal. A Swedish study concerning Parkinson’s disease (PD) showed that the risk of developing PD was 16% lower in those who previously had an appendectomy, and 8% lower in those who’d had a tonsillectomy. Interestingly, after 20 years post-surgery, the numbers flipped, in that the tonsillectomy group had a 15% lower risk of PD and the appendectomy group a 7% lower risk. Alternatively, if you’re in a non-emergency position, there are non-surgical options to consider if you’d rather avoid removal. For repeated tonsil issues like sore throats, there are home remedies that offer comfort, such as warm salt water gargles, herbal teas (ginger, licorice, and peppermint—all anti-inflammatory), throat lozenges and sprays, and of course, raw honey—an option both soothing and rich in natural antibacterial properties. For more aggressive cases, tonsil ablation could be an option. This procedure is non-surgical, intended to shrink the tonsils rather than removing them. For sleep issues, getting to or maintaining a healthy weight can help if sleep apnea is a concern, as being overweight can lead to more fatty stores in the throat, obstructing your airway. It’s also possible that sleep struggles are the result of out-of-whack circadian rhythms, as stated in A Voice for Choice Advocacy’s “Master Clock Circadian Rhythm: What Happens When Your Body Is “Off Time?”:
“The many complex parts of your immune system have biological clocks that are regulated by the natural cycles of day and night to function optimally. As more research is being done to look at how pivotal circadian rhythms are to overall health, scientists are finding how critical proper sleep hygiene is to prevent sickness and disease.”
As for appendectomies, this procedure doesn’t usually come into play unless you are in the throes of appendicitis. If that’s the case, surgery may be your only option, unless yours is considered an “uncomplicated” case. In that event, you may consider advocating for antibiotics. If you choose to go this route, it’s worth looking into adding a probiotic to help your gut cope with and recover from the effects of the antibiotic. Additionally, several natural healing steps can support your body’s recovery:
Unless you're faced with the unfortunate circumstances of a severe appendicitis emergency, chronic throat infections, or an extreme case of sleep apnea, if you view your body holistically—believing every part has its purpose—it’s worth considering and inquiring about alternatives to surgery. As scientific research catches up to nature’s synergistic design, keeping your organs intact—when safe to do so—may help maintain a strong immune system for both you and your child, offering long-term protection against infections and disease.
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