ACUTE SEGMENTAL APPENDICITIS: EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES

In a previous communication 1 attention was called to a segmental type of appendicitis, characterized by a sharply demarcated lesion involving only a part of the organ. Further observations have revealed that not only does the single area of segmental involvement occur, but occasionally "skip" appendicitis, in which two or more areas of focal inflammation are separated by apparently normal appendical tissue. The gross features were particularly striking since they bore a close similarity to lesions seen elsewhere in the intestine. 2 The present study is concerned with the genesis of acute segmental appendicitis. ANATOMIC CONSIDERATIONS The experimental production of acute segmental appendicitis in the rabbit rests on two basic factors. The first is the peculiar segmental distribution of the appendical blood supply. The second is the striking similarity of the pathologic picture observed after vascular ligation in the rabbit to the pathologic process observed in man. Certain embryologic and