appendix

Of the appendix is located at the beginning of the colon again and has the shape of a "dead end". Its medical term is caecum or cecum. The appendix is ​​best known for appendicitis.

What is the appendix?

The first section of the large intestine, located in front of the right iliac pelvis, is less known by its medical name "Caecum" than by the more common term appendix.

This name comes from the fact that the large intestine ends at this point "blind" (from Latin: caecus = blind), ie it simply ends in one direction after approx. 6-8 cm. With a width of approx. 7 cm, the cecum, as the widest section of the entire large intestine, is a kind of vestibule for the directly adjoining ascending part of the large intestine, the ascending colon.

Anatomy & structure

On the left side, the small intestine leads through the ileocecal valve (also called the "Bauhin valve") into the appendixwhich can also be seen in the form of a small protuberance.

The lower end, more precisely the beginning of the large intestine, can be localized from the outside by drawing an imaginary line between the navel and the front right end of the iliac crest. Approximately in the middle of this line is the "McBurney point" where the exit of the appendix (appendix vermiformis) from the appendix can be found. This is often wrongly referred to as the appendix, and the inflammation of the appendix (appendicitis) is not actually a real "appendicitis".

The appendix contains a lot of lymphatic tissue in its wall structure and therefore plays an important role for the immune system against antigens that are absorbed via the digestive tract. It is essentially supplied via the anterior caecal artery (anterior caecal artery) and the posterior caecal artery (posterior caecal artery), which come from the ileocolic artery.

Like the rest of the large intestine, the appendix, unlike the small intestine, has no villi. The increase in surface area, which is so important for intestinal activities, takes place here, as in the entire large intestine, through so-called crypts and house doors, which are caused by the formation of folds in the lining of the large intestine.

Functions & tasks

Historically, the played appendix in the past in humans and still today in herbivores, it played an essential role in the digestion of fiber-rich food components.

But people's diet has changed a lot. Today we not only eat more meat, but we also prepare dishes that are much more agreeable and easier to digest. Thus, the appendix in humans and pure carnivores is only rudimentary or not present at all, in herbivores, on the other hand, sometimes even longer than in humans.

In addition, the appendix serves as a reservoir for the bacterial colonization of the large intestine. It also fulfills an important function by supporting the intestinal flora and its symbiotic bacteria in "times of crisis":

In the case of severe diarrheal diseases, in which the entire intestinal flora is often destroyed, these can survive in the appendix of the appendix. After surviving the illness, they are ready to colonize the intestinal flora again.

Illnesses, ailments & disorders

In addition to the diseases that affect the entire large intestine and thus also the appendix can affect (e.g. ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, colon cancer), actually only one disease is known that is limited to the cecum alone: ​​appendicitis, i.e. the inflammation of the appendix of the appendix. It is most common in children and adolescents. An actual appendicitis (typhlitis) does not exist until parts of the appendix beyond the appendix are affected by the inflammation.

The most common causes of appendicitis are infections with pathogens or an obstruction by faecaliths or other foreign bodies (e.g. cherry stones). In the diagnosis, particular attention is paid to severe pain around the navel and in the epigastric region, here the McBurney point comes into play as an important point during palpation, where the patient is particularly sensitive to pain in the case of appendicitis responds.

In the course of time, appendicitis can range from a slight irritation to severe inflammation to a wall breakthrough (perforation in the free abdominal cavity) and thus to peritonitis and thus become life-threatening if left untreated.

Nowadays an inflamed appendix is ​​removed relatively unspectacularly with the help of laparoscopic surgical methods, so that the patient is usually fit and ready for action again after a few days.