Of course, vestigial structures aren't the only evidence backing up evolution, but they're certainly some of the most compelling. To learn more about evolution in humans, head over to the ...

Vestigial structures are evolution’s leftovers — body parts that, through inheritance, have outlived the context in which they arose.

Ben Garrod does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

Many species, including humans, have vestigial organs that are thought to be useless. But this specific structure might actually be doing more than you know.

These vestigial organs, Darwin argued, are evidence of evolution and represent a function that was once necessary for survival, but over time that function became either diminished or nonexistent.

Many other species also show vestigial structures that have no current functions.

Some believe that these structures are examples of human evolution. Others believe that so-called vestigial organs do have a purpose, although these purposes aren’t yet understood.

Recently, many supposedly useless vestigial structures—like the appendix and the spleen—have been shown to actually not be so useless.

How 'useless’ quirks of evolution actually support Darwin's theory An evolutionary spandrel is a physical structure or behavioural characteristic that is a by-product from some other functional ...

Since Darwin’s time, students of natural history have been fascinated by the presence of apparently non-functioning (vestigial) human body structures as evidence for our evolution.