The appendix, otherwise the appendix, is a hollow blindly closed tube that originates from the dome of the cecum.
As a rule, the length of the process fluctuates around 8 centimeters. There were times when the appendix was very short or completely absent. The location of the shoot is very, very diverse. The clinic of all diseases associated with it depends on where the person’s appendix is located and how it is located in relation to other organs.
For many years there was an opinion in medicine that the appendix is completely superfluous and does not perform any functions that are significant for the body. Moreover, inflammation of the appendix - appendicitis - both by itself and through complications, often threatened the lives of patients.
In many countries, attempts have been made to remove the appendix at an early age in order to prevent the development of possible pathological processes in the future. Over the years, independent researchers drew attention to the fact that in children with small marks in the form of a postoperative scar in the place where the human appendix is located, growth retardation and development, reduced resistance to infections, and digestive upset are more often observed.
So why do we need an appendix? Based on the latest data, the appendix is primarily needed in infancy and in the first few years of life, after which its function gradually decreases. However, subsequently throughout life, the appendix is a barrier to any infection of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the lymphoid tissue of the appendix plays an important role in the fight against cancer.
Do not forget about E. coli - the most important component of the intestinal microflora, without which it becomes impossible to absorb some nutrients and vitamins.
Due to malnutrition, frequent infectious processes, the normal functioning of the appendix is disrupted. Evacuation of contents is difficult, blockage occurs, wall overstretching, blood supply deteriorates. All these are signs of the onset of inflammation of the appendix - appendicitis. In the place where the person’s appendix is located, namely in the right lower abdomen (Mc Burney point), discomfort appears, cutting or pulling pains that subside when lying on the right side. Often, such pain is preceded by pain in the upper abdomen in the middle, which after some time migrate to the point of Mc Burney.
Classical symptoms may be supplemented or replaced by more rare ones. It all depends on where the person’s appendix is located in relation to the
cecum. There are descending, subhepatic, anterior, posterior, external, internal, intraorgan and even left-sided locations.
Treatment is most often surgical. At the present stage, the operation is carried out laparoscopically, in other words, through small punctures in the anterior abdominal wall.
Summing up, we can say that the appendix plays an important role in the body, the removal of this process is a necessary measure in case of an already developed inflammatory process in order to avoid complications.