Appendicitis

As the name suggests, Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix, derived from the terms ‘Appendix’(the organ itself) and ‘Itis’(Inflammation). 

The main cause of the disease is when a fecalith (an especially hard fecal material) gets stuck in a narrow pathway between the patient’s large intestine and a sac called the appendix. This blockage causes mucus and toxins to collect in the appendix, eventually causing it to swell up. It has to be treated as soon as possible before the sac bursts, infecting neighbouring organs.

Appendicitis can be treated using a two step approach. The surgeon first inserts a tube through the skin and into the appendix, draining the abscess. Depending on whether the appendix has ruptured, the surgeon can conduct open surgery or a few small abdominal incisions (laparoscopic surgery). 

There is little risk post surgery when getting an appendectomy because the appendix has no known function. It is believed that the appendix is just a useless remnant from our evolutionary past.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/appendicitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20369543#:~:text=A%20rupture%20spreads%20infection%20throughout,pocket%20of%20infection%20(abscess).

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/appendectomy#:~:text=Some%20possible%20complications%20of%20an,appendix%20bursts%20during%20surgery%20(peritonitis)

https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/picture-of-the-appendix#:~:text=Normally%2C%20the%20appendix%20sits%20in,remnant%20from%20our%20evolutionary%20past.