The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-04-23

setting up of Inflammation and conse-
quent gangrene in the tissue of the APP
pendix, usually due to insufficient cir-
culation of blood in the part itself. In
thousands of operations which have
taken place-inany in time to save tee
life of the patient and many too late
there is not one authenticated case of
a foreign substance, such as a seed, be-
ing found in the appendix. This will
be more fully realized when n has
in mind that the interior of the appen-
dix is big enough to admit only a me-
diminished darning needle. Its great
liability to disease is due entirely to
it's low order of vital resistance. That
is, it is an organ which appears to have
no actual use in the present machinery
of man, but in the earlier stages Of
-man3s development it is believed to
have been a large pouch that played
an important part in the digestive oper-
atoms of the human system. BY ages
of disuse it has gradually shrunk to
its present dimensions, and is known
to science as a vestigial organ, one
which is only a remnant of it's former
self, and possessing but a vestige Of it's
original functions.
This becomes more clear if some 9TH
.er parts of the body which now seem
'to'have no use are employed. The tom
Sfls are in this class, and also the wis
dom teeth, and both are peculiarly sub
ject to disease.
- Thn "-icIN ~, footl .Inrn,- ~ r1,, ~, ~ n
average man, and the tonsils are a con-
slant source Of trouble in some per-
sons. These disorders are due to the
low vital resistance of the parts. They
are a%trophied from disuse, and there
fore, Unable TO throw off their enemies,
asS do the stomach and lungs, the heart
and the intestines, the blood vessels
and the nerves, which are in constant
and active working order.
The tonsils and the appendix are
composed of what is called limphoid
tissue, which is. lowest in the scale OF
material in the body. The tonsils are
SO situated that they can be treated or
removed without serious difficulty. But
the appendix is in one of the most, deli
cate and vital parts of the body, in the
peritoneal cavity. usually to the right
of the center Of the abdomen.
But in rare instances it has been
found IN the left side, and still more
rarely otherwise displaced. This dis
covery, made very recently, has caused
the surgeons to be extremely careful to
locate the trouble before using the
knife.
Until a comparatively recent period
the frequent and fatal part played by
the vermiform appendix in p%eritoneal
disorders. and especially in septic peri
t%onitis, had not been understood by
the medical profession. That was the
reason that septic peritonitis was gen
orally succeeded by the DEATH of the
sufferer oon after the symptoms were
we'll established.
But science never stands still, II al
ways pushes it's Investigations beyond
mere appearances and out of the mys-
teries of nature develops facts which
give it power and might. When it was
once proved that the poison which pro-
duced septic peritonitis came from the
breaking down or decay of the appen-
dix the very root of one of mans worst
physical foes was laid bare. Further
practice established beyond a doubt
that. in a large majority of cases, the
appendix could be removed by a simple
surgical operation and the patient re-
stored to"vigorous health, if the disease
was discovered in time n correctly
diagnosed.
n surgeons now regard the opera
ton itself as one OF the most simple,
but to obtain the best results it should
take place within a few hours after he
patient begins to suffer from the dis
ease. In fact, the sooner the operation
is had the better are the chances of re-
covery, while if the knife is not resort
ed to death surely ensues very prompt
ly. or after lingering miseries from the
deadly poison perambulating through
the system and coming to the surface
in assesses.
The symptoms are so plain and nm
mistakable to the g of today that
any sufferer may know them for him
self:
Il. The attack is always sudden. II
ome On when the person is. apparent
iy, in the best of health, and without
the slightest warning.
80. A sharp pain is felt in the very
cnnter OF the abdomen. This is always
the case, whether the appendix be in
It's correct place on the right side, or