The appendix, otherwise the appendix, is a hollow, blindly closed tube that originates from the dome of the caecum.
As a rule, the length of the process fluctuates around 8 centimeters. There were cases when the appendix was very short or absent altogether. The location of the process is very, very diverse. The clinic of all diseases associated with it depends on where the appendix is located in a person and how exactly 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 significant functions 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 process at an early age in order to prevent the development of possible pathological processes in the future. Years later, independent researchers noticed that children with small marks in the form of a postoperative scar in the place where the human appendix is are more likely to experience a slowdown in growth and development, reduced resistance to infections, as well asdigestive disorders.
So why do we need an appendix? Based on the latest data obtained, the appendix is primarily needed in infancy and in the first few years of life, after which its function gradually decreases. However, subsequently throughout human life, the appendix is a barrier to any infection of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the lymphoid tissue of the process 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. The evacuation of the contents is difficult, blockage occurs, overstretching of the walls, blood supply worsens. All these are signs of the onset of inflammation of the appendix - appendicitis. In the place where the human appendix is located, namely in the right lower abdomen (McBurney's point), discomfort appears, cutting or pulling pains that subside when lying on the right side. Often such pains are preceded by pains in the upper abdomen in the middle, which after a while migrate to McBurney's point.
Classic symptoms can be supplemented or replaced by more rare ones. It all depends on where the appendix is located in a person in relation to the caecum. There are descending, subhepatic,anterior, posterior, external, internal, intraorganic and even left-sided.
Treatment is most often surgical. At the present stage, the operation is performed 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.
