Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-12-04
ABOUT APPENDICITIS.
The Disease Has Had its Ma ne Only Doze n
Years.

Ten Years ago the word appendicitis
! was practically unknown. even to the
| majority of physicians" remarked a
| medical man to a reporter the other
day. When The first sheets Of the
| century dictionary We're issued. about
| |. years ago. a reward was offered to
| any one VINO would point out word
| that had been omitted. The word
| appendicitis WAS not in The original
| sheets. yet no one claimed the reward
And no wonder for it was not until
| l>SN that Dr. Reginald Fitz of Boston
applied the name appendicitis to a
series of conditions that had often
been noted before but had never been
| properly understood
Now appendicitis is one of the
| most familiar of household words. II
seems paradoXical. then. to say that
! dpp"ndlritl, il not more FREQUENT than
/ II used to be. Yet this is absolutely
! true. \ rev and more exact name
! mas come into vogue. but not a new
disease. Twenty years ago two causes
| "i u"ath were Very prevalent that are
scarcely heard of now. They We're in
! h@nmation oi the bowels ana peri
| erection in diet being followed by collie.
! thor Inflammation Of the bowels sct in
! and death ensued. or an acquaintance
| ttaNe-inE at Il distance from surgical
ait. was stricken with peritonts, and
| l'forc relief could be afforded. was
/ d,&u.
III l. surprising that me discovery
| that these serious abdominal affections
| practically ALWAYS begin in the appen-
| dix should have been left to an
| American medical man of our day.
| MI over Europe hundreds of autopsies
| " ere made every wear in which the
rr!e of the appendix as the primary
! cau>" Of the fatal illness is now mani
| t.st
! The key To- the mystery of most of
! ih' serious abdominal affections LAY
! f"l Years right under the eyes of
| "a tlE maker of many autopsies. 1t
| WAS contained i'll an organ. however.
| THAT was thought to be unimport4nt.
| \tr.llesS t. say it was missed When
| American surgeons first insisted that
| practically all intestinal collie was due
| u inflammation Of the appendix. and
| that most OF the fatal peritonitis
| they We're scoffed mt by men who said
| iInnic things about the lack Of judicial
| conservatism in their entcrprisng
| American colleagues. Now the impor-
! tancc Of appendicitis is fully recog-
! uizcd. though due credit is not given
! To American inventive acumen for the
| discovery.
| 1t i the custom to think that ap
pcudicitis is due To some cause i'm
ule,Iiately preceding the development
OF the symptoms. Nothing could Well
ue less true The condition which
causes the appendix to become aCutely
iu:lared usually dates back for many
/ years What is constantly found in
diseased appendices after their re-
I tnoval is a stricture-that is a narrow
| inc ~ the canal Of the appendix.
when the canal of the small. lead
| lonciI-Iike tube of the appendix be
| GENES very narrow at some point il
| takes but little to shut ii UP entirely
| Some disturbance Of digestion. or
cold or a blow sends more blood than
usual to the intestines This causes
! the mucous membrane of the intestine
| ana of the appendix. which is part OF
the intestine to swell. This swelling
! closes entirely the narrowed canal of
| the appendix. and then the trouble
begins.
~Bact-lia are always present in the
aupandiN because of its connection
with the intestine. where they swarm.
As long as the exit is FIRE" these germs
are not dangerous. AS soon as they
are confined their rapid multlrNca-
lion without chance Of escape makes
| them deadly They rupture the APP
petiIix. and if they do not find some
,yar niit uf th- body. death Is in
e> itabl b.
The structures Of the appendix mat
| ,re the prime cause Of the trouble are
not ,oncerital- that is. are not present
Ut birth. but are acquired. Most of
,ncln result from severe lntesthal
disclS. i'm childhood. Some of them
/ folloN tvphol fever. or dySent2fN, 81
Influenza Of the intestineS. The most
inportant factor is undoubtedly the
,,ritis III childhood. that Is. the in
.,..o,nation of the large intestine 50
FREQUENT in the carly years OF life
trrnndcitis has been always with
us Il can be unmistakably traced
]
tbrouch history. Many supposed
casc of pnisoning was in reality only
Il rauialy fatal appendicitis. chapters
Of history will have To be rewritten
! win thi: in mind. our generation VIII
net escape its share in the dangers OF
, ,,uendicial evolution.
! I'VE can individually lessen our
! uh;,rce$ of suffering by avoiding all
/ forms uf intestinal irritation rs
,..,.ially does the chronic congestion
tl,at accompanies constipation seem TO
r,adispose to appendicitis. constlra-
tior precedes an acute appendicltlS IN
! NJ ne;. cent. of the cases. Not the
4 .nasnlodir catharsis Of drugs. but the
regular. action of nature is the surest
safeguard against appendicitis.
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I.apland is to have 4 regular automo-