Body parts that seem to serve no purpose and have atrophied are called what?

• A. Homology
• B. Vestigial organs
• C. Analogy
• D. Embryology

Answer: (B)

Vestigial organs are body parts that once had a purpose in our ancestors but have become reduced or useless over time. They persist as small remnants that show our evolutionary history. This concept helps explain why humans still have structures that seem to serve no current function—their presence reflects traits inherited from species long ago, even if the current organism doesn’t rely on them. For example, the coccyx (tailbone) is a remnant of a tail, and the appendix is a remnant of a larger digestive organ. By contrast, homologous structures are similar because of shared ancestry but may still be functional; analogous structures look alike or perform similar functions but arise independently; embryology is the study of development. So the term for body parts that seem to serve no purpose and have atrophied is vestigial organs.