Appendicitis

Study finds how to correct human mitochondrial mutations

Researchers at the UCLA stem cell center and the departments of chemistry and biochemistry and pathology and laboratory medicine have identified, for the first time, a generic way to correct mutations in human mitochondrial ...

Medical research created Mar 12, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (13) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Western diet changes gut bacteria and triggers colitis in those at risk

Certain saturated fats that are common in the modern Western diet can initiate a chain of events leading to complex immune disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in people with a genetic predisposition, according ...

Medical research created Jun 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Antibiotics could replace surgery for appendicitis

Although the standard approach to acute appendicitis is to remove the appendix, a study at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reveals that treatment with antibiotics can be just as effective in many ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Sep 26, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Researchers develop new tool in fight against apoptosis-related disease

(Medical Xpress) -- Though apoptosis is hardly a household word, it’s been estimated that more than half of all diseases for which we have no suitable treatment are related to malfunctions in apoptosis, ...

Medical research created Jun 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A fresh look at mental illness: Researcher points toward a new way to classify disorders

Ask Assistant Professor of Psychology Joshua Buckholtz to explain his research into mental disorders, and he’ll likely start with a question that’s got more to do with basic medicine: When is the ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jul 31, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 8

Ultrasound diagnoses appendicitis without X-rays

Children suspected of having appendicitis are more likely to receive CT scans, which involve radiation, if they are evaluated at a general hospital, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has ...

Pediatrics created Dec 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Blocking digestive enzymes may reverse shock, stop multiorgan failure

New research from the University of California, San Diego published in the Jan. 23 issue of Science Translational Medicine moves researchers closer to understanding and developing treatments for shock, sepsis ...

Medical research created Jan 23, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists unlock evolutionary secret of blood vessels

The ability to form closed systems of blood vessels is one of the hallmarks of vertebrate development. Without it, humans would be closer to invertebrates (think mollusks) in design, where blood simply washes through an open ...

Medical research created Feb 21, 2012 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The tangled NETs of the immune system

When scientists can’t believe their eyes, it is very likely that they are on to something quite extraordinary. This was precisely the case for Arturo Zychlinsky and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute ...

Medical research created Apr 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Cedars-Sinai surgeon shows simple cotton swab slashes

A simple item found in almost every medicine cabinet – a cotton swab -- may be a key tool in the fight against post-surgical wound infections.

Other created Jun 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Appendix removal: Huge sticker shock in study

What do hospitals charge to remove an appendix? The startling answer is that it could be the same as the price of a refrigerator - or a house.

Health created Apr 23, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New database aims to improve emergency general surgery care and outcomes

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, have successfully created and implemented an emergency general surgery registry (EGSR) that will advance the science of acute surgical care by allowing ...

Other created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0


Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to peritonitis and shock. Reginald Fitz first described acute and chronic appendicitis in 1886, and it has been recognized as one of the most common causes of severe acute abdominal pain worldwide. A correctly diagnosed non-acute form of appendicitis is known as "rumbling appendicitis".

The term "pseudoappendicitis" is used to describe a condition mimicking appendicitis. It can be associated with Yersinia enterocolitica.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Latest Spotlight News

New immune system discovered

(Medical Xpress)—A research team, led by Jeremy Barr, a biology post-doctoral fellow, unveils a new immune system that protects humans and animals from infection.

Brain can be trained in compassion, study shows

Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion—the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.

Hormone levels may provide key to understanding psychological disorders in women

Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences, according to a study from UCL.

Do salamanders hold the solution to regeneration?

Salamanders' immune systems are key to their remarkable ability to regrow limbs, and could also underpin their ability to regenerate spinal cords, brain tissue and even parts of their hearts, scientists have ...

Controlling mood through the motions of mitochondria

(Medical Xpress)—Regulating the distribution of power in neurons is done by a system that makes the national electric grid look simple by comparison. Each neuron has several thousand mitochondria confined ...

Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer's study

Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science.

Motion quotient: IQ predicted by ability to filter motion (w/ video)

A brief visual task can predict IQ, according to a new study. This surprisingly simple exercise measures the brain's unconscious ability to filter out visual movement. The study shows that individuals whose ...

Brain uses internal 'average voice' prototype to identify who is talking

(Medical Xpress)—The human brain is able to identify individuals' voices by comparing them against an internal 'average voice' prototype, according to neuroscientists.

The compound in the Mediterranean diet that makes cancer cells 'mortal'

New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death. By altering a very specific step in gene regulation, this compound essentially re-educates cancer ...

Engineered cytomegalovirus protects monkeys from HIV equivalent

(Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys ...