MINNEAPOLIS — Stephen Colbert is away from late-night TV following emergency surgery last week — the comedian's appendix burst. That made us wonder: What does the appendix do for our body? And why are ...

It was the first day of spring break in 1992 in Phoenix, and 12-year-old Heather Smith was excited for her family's upcoming ski trip. But before Smith and her family had even packed their snow pants, ...

If you were pressed to name body parts that you could do without, odds are good that the appendix would make what’s (hopefully) a short list. It’s a bit of a troublemaker, this testy tube of tissue ...

In the United States, 1 in 15 people get appendicitis. Even though I was aware of this staggering statistic, I still never thought anything would happen to my sacred appendix… until it did. After a ...

The appendix may not be useless after all. The worm-shaped structure found near the junction of the small and large intestines evolved 32 times among mammals, according to a new study. The finding ...

The GI tract is a complex group of organs, each of which helps your body digest and absorb food. Your upper GI tract includes your esophagus, stomach, and the first section of your small intestine, ...

I often experience pain in my lower-right side of my abdomen, and I suspect it is appendicitis. I plan to visit my gastroenterologist soon, but there is a nagging fear that my appendix might burst.