- acute a. acute inflammation of the appendix, usually due to bacterial infection, which may be precipitated by obstruction of the lumen by a fecalith; variable symptoms often consisting of periumbilical colicky pain and vomiting may be followed by fever, leukocytosis, persistent pain, and signs of peritoneal inflammation in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen; perforation or abscess formation is a frequent complication of delayed surgical intervention.
- bilharzial a. a. caused by the deposition of the eggs of the blood fluke, Schistosoma mansoni, in the vermiform appendix.
- chronic a. fibrous adhesions, scarring, or deformity of the appendix following subsidence of acute a.; fibrous obliteration of the distal lumen is not abnormal in older persons; term frequently used to refer to repeated mild attacks of acute a..
- focal a. acute a. involving only part of the appendix, sometimes at the site of, or distal to, an obstruction of the lumen.
- foreign-body a. a. caused by obstruction of the lumen of the appendix by a foreign substance, such as a particulate foreign body.
- gangrenous a. acute a. with necrosis of the wall of the appendix, most commonly developing in obstructive a. and frequently causing perforation and acute peritonitis.
- left-sided a. a. occurring on the left side of the abdomen, usually the left-lower quadrant, due to abnormal rotation of the gut (such as situs inversus).
- obstructive a. acute a. due to infection of retained secretion behind an obstruction of the lumen by a fecalith or some other cause, including carcinoma of the cecum.
- perforating a. inflammation of the appendix leading to perforation of the wall of the appendix into the peritoneal cavity, resulting in peritonitis.
- recurrent a. repeated episodes of right lower quadrant abdominal pain attributed to recurrence of inflammation of the appendix in an individual who did not have an appendectomy for prior episodes. SYN: relapsing a..
- subperitoneal a. a. of a subperitoneally displaced appendix.
- verminous a. a. caused by obstruction or response to the presence of parasitic worms such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, or the pinworm Enterobius vermicularis.
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ap·pen·di·ci·tis ə-.pen-də-'sīt-əs n inflammation of the vermiform appendix called also epityphlitis
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n.
inflammation of the vermiform appendix. Acute appendicitis, which has become common this century, usually affects young people. The chief symptom is abdominal pain, first central and later (with tenderness) in the right lower abdomen, over the appendix. Unusual positions of the appendix may cause pain in different sites, leading to difficulty in diagnosis. Vomiting and diarrhoea sometimes occur, but fever is slight. If not treated by surgical removal (appendicectomy) the condition usually progresses to cause an abscess or generalized peritonitis. Conditions that mimic appendicitis include mesenteric lymphadenitis, acute ileitis (see Crohn's disease), pyelonephritis, and pneumonia. Chronic appendicitis was a popular diagnosis 20-50 years ago to explain recurrent pains in the lower abdomen. It is rare, and appendicectomy will not usually cure such pains.
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ap·pen·di·ci·tis (ə-pen″dĭ-siґtis) inflammation of the vermiform appendix.Medical dictionary. 2011.