Summary Appendix

The vermiform appendix is considered by most to be a
vestigial
organ; its importance in surgery results only from its
propensity
for inflammation, which results in the clinical syndrome
known as ‘acute appendicitis’.

Acute appendicitis is the most
common cause of an ‘acute abdomen’ in young adults and,
as such, the associated symptoms and signs have become a
paradigm for clinical teaching.

,ANATOMY
The vermiform appendix is present only in humans,
certain
anthropoid apes and the wombat. It is a blind muscular
tube with mucosal, submucosal, muscular and serosal
layers.
Morphologically, it is the undeveloped distal end of the
large
caecum found in many lower animals.

, The position of the base of the appendix is constant, being
found at the confluence of the three taeniae coli of the
caecum,
which fuse to form the outer longitudinal muscle coat of
the
appendix. At operation, use can be made of this to find an
elusive
appendix, as gentle traction on the taeniae coli, particularly
the anterior taenia, will lead the operator to the base of
the
appendix.