Vestigial structures take many forms: organs, behaviors, and even biochemical processes. Their defining characteristic is they are structures that a species has retained, but no longer serve their ...

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.

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.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines vestigial organs as organs or structures remaining or surviving in a degenerate, atrophied, or imperfect condition or form.

Learn about what a human tail is, its causes, and how to remove one.

Oldest Lizard Fossil Shows These Reptiles Are The Ultimate Survivors The 250-million-year-old specimen from the Alps suggests that lizards evolved before Earth’s largest mass extinction—and ...

Like any vestigial structure, we retain pieces of this genetic material because it really isn't causing any trouble: Century after century, the "junk" sequence is duplicated and passed on, even if ...