Why is coccyx vestigial

More often we hear evolutionists claiming that the tailbone has no function whatsoever, and in fact that is what the professor seemed to be suggesting. A student in the class emailed me to ask about what the professor said. People can also live with one kidney instead of two. We can lose the hair on our head, but it has a function. Many people throughout human history have lived after losing many if not most of their teeth — but teeth certainly have a function.

If you break your tailbone, it can be extremely painful. I assume that anyone who had his tailbone removed did so only because of some severe medical problem that caused great pain like a broken or dislocated tailbone. Only then is it better to have it removed. Most likely this required fairly complex surgery both to remove the tailbone and then to reattach the muscles that normally attach to it to other lower vertebrae. Each of these medical websites notes that the coccyx is an attachment site for muscles, and many also note that it is an important attachment site for tendons and ligaments.

Some of the websites note that the coccyx has a weight-bearing function when we sit. Definitely not functionless! Evolutionary thinking can hinder the progress of science by wrongly presuming that functional parts are vestigial holdovers, and have no function. The human body has a few unneeded parts. Charles Darwin pointed to these vestiges of anatomy in humans and other animals as evidence for evolution. Eventually, by noting how the vestigial organs in one species were similar to functioning organs in other species, biologists concluded two otherwise dissimilar creatures must have shared a common ancestor.

Here are five of the most notable vestigial organs in humans:. The Appendix : This small pouch attached to your large intestine, at the junction of the small intestine, no longer aids in digestion, and none of the 1 in 20 people who have one removed seems to miss it.

I accept. Industry Agenda Social Innovation The proof of evolution, as seen on your body. The proof of evolution that you can find on your own body. Image: The replica of a neanderthall skull is displayed in the new Neanderthal Museum in the northern Croatian town of Krapina.

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