For a long
time, the concept of "vestigial organs" appeared frequently
in evolutionist literature as "evidence" of evolution. Eventually,
it was silently put to rest when this was proved to be invalid.
But some evolutionists still believe in it, and from time
to time someone will try to advance "vestigial organs" as
important evidence of evolution.
The notion of "vestigial organs" was first put
forward a century ago. As evolutionists would have it, there
existed in the bodies of some creatures a number of non-functional
organs. These had been inherited from progenitors and had
gradually become vestigial from lack of use.
The whole assumption is quite unscientific, and
is based entirely on insufficient knowledge. These "non-functional
organs" were in fact organs whose "functions had not yet been
discovered." The best indication of this was the gradual yet
substantial decrease in evolutionists' long list of vestigial
organs. S. R. Scadding, an evolutionist himself, concurred
with this fact in his article "Can vestigial organs constitute
evidence for evolution?" published in the journal Evolutionary
Theory:
Since it is not possible
to unambiguously identify useless structures, and since
the structure of the argument used is not scientifically
valid, I conclude that 'vestigial organs' provide no special
evidence for the theory of evolution.312

A scientific study of the myth of vestigial organs:
"Vestigial Organs" Are Fully Functional. |
The list of vestigial organs that was made by
the German Anatomist R. Wiedersheim in 1895 included approximately
100 organs, including the appendix and coccyx. As science
progressed, it was discovered that all of the organs in Wiedersheim's
list in fact had very important functions. For instance, it
was discovered that the appendix, which was supposed to be
a "vestigial organ," was in fact a lymphoid organ that fought
infections in the body. This fact was made clear in 1997:
Other bodily organs and
tissues-the thymus, liver, spleen, appendix, bone marrow,
and small collections of lymphatic tissue such as the tonsils
in the throat and Peyer's patch in the small intestine-are
also part of the lymphatic system. They too help the body
fight infection.313
It was also discovered that the tonsils, which
were included in the same list of vestigial organs, had a
significant role in protecting the throat against infections,
particularly until adolescence. It was found that the coccyx
at the lower end of the vertebral column supports the bones
around the pelvis and is the convergence point of some small
muscles and for this reason, it would not be possible to sit
comfortably without a coccyx.

The appendix (above), which evolutionists thought to be
a vestigial organ, has now been understood to play an
important part in the body's immune system. The coccyx
at the lower end of the vertebral column is also not a
vestigial organ but provides an attachment for our pelvic
organs so that they will not collapse. |
|
In the years that followed, it was realized that
the thymus triggered the immune system in the human body by
activating the T cells, that the pineal gland was in charge
of the secretion of some important hormones such as melatonin,
which inhibits secretion of luteinizing hormone, that the
thyroid gland was effective in providing steady growth in
babies and children and in metabolism and body activity, and
that the pituitary gland controlled skeletal growth and the
proper functioning of the thyroid, adrenals, and reproductive
glands. All of these were once considered to be "vestigial
organs." Finally, the semi-lunar fold in the eye, which was
referred to as a vestigial organ by Darwin, has been found
in fact to be in charge of cleansing and lubricating the eyeball.
There was a very important logical error in the
evolutionist claim regarding vestigial organs. As we have
just seen, this claim was that the vestigial organs in living
things were inherited from their ancestors. However, some
of the alleged "vestigial" organs are not found in the species
alleged to be the ancestors of human beings! For example,
the appendix does not exist in some ape species that are said
to be ancestors of man. The famous biologist H. Enoch, who
challenged the theory of vestigial organs, expressed this
logical error as follows:
Apes possess an appendix,
whereas their less immediate relatives, the lower apes,
do not; but it appears again among the still lower mammals
such as the opossum. How can the evolutionists account for
this?314
Beside all of this, the claim that an organ which
is not used atrophies and disappears over time carries a logical
inconsistency within it. Darwin was aware of this inconsistency,
and made the following confession in The Origin of Species:
There remains, however,
this difficulty. After an organ has ceased being used, and
has become in consequence much reduced, how can it be still
further reduced in size until the merest vestige is left;
and how can it be finally quite obliterated? It is scarcely
possible that disuse can go on producing any further effect
after the organ has once been rendered functionless. Some
additional explanation is here requisite which I cannot
give.315
Simply put, the scenario of vestigial organs
put forward by evolutionists contains a number of serious
logical flaws, and has in any case been proven to be scientifically
untrue. There exists not one inherited vestigial organ in
the human body.

312 S. R. Scadding, "Do
'Vestigial Organs' Provide Evidence for Evolution?," Evolutionary
Theory, vol. 5, May 1981, p. 173.
313 The Merck Manual of Medical Information,
Home edition, Merck & Co., Inc. The Merck Publishing Group,
Rahway, New Jersey, 1997.
314 H. Enoch, Creation and Evolution,
New York, 1966, pp. 18-19.
315 Charles Darwin, Origin of Species,
http://www.zoo.uib.no/classics/darwin/origin.chap14.html. |