Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-29
Ey NJ. II. THOMAS, NJ. d.

disturbance ! am satisfied is true. Again
| may allude to my personal experience
and say that it has been my observation
that individuals without the appendix
have. as I have found them, been far more
susceptible 70 administration and pto-
maine poisoning after the removal OF the
appendix. There may be other unnatural
effects There probably are, but until the
function OF this organ is better under
stood and more exact statistics compiled
the evidence will not be more convincing.
The reason for my belief in the impor-
lance OF the appendix and that its re-
movaI is not productive Of all good is the
nature and location of the organ.
The common school physiology will tell
you that the appendix is a small blind
pouch attached to the caecum. or head Of
the large bowel, just opposite the point of
attachment of the small intestine. We
know that the process Of digestion of
food and the absorption Of the nutritious
principles therefrom is practically com
pleted by the time the mass is emptied
into the large intestine. We further know
that i'm the process of digestion certain
pOisons are generated i'm the decomposi-
ton OF the food.
The function of the large bowel is mainly
TO receive the refuse from above. to abb
sorb the liquids therefrom and prepare the
large intestine is an absorptive mem.
brane. To absorb this liquid impregnated
with pOisons would be most deleterious to
health and dangerous to life itself There
fore ii is the function of the large intes-
tine and its auXiliaries 70 neutralize these
pOsOns
It is then fair to assume that It is in
this scavenger work of the large intestine
that the appendix plays an important role
and my belief is that it is so, because. as
] have before said / have found that sub
Jects from whom the appendix had been
removed are much more prone to poison
ing from within themselves. All this,
however, is Of secondary importance. We
know that people can and do exist with
out the appendix. Il is my opinion that
they are not nearly 50 well off without il
as with il, but / make my case on the
lack OF necessity of its removal and not in
attempting to predict dire consequences
should it be so sacrificed.
Two questions of great interest to the
layman. and two which are of continual
annoyance to the surgeons, are, What
causes appendicitis?' and "Why do we
hear more of this disease now than we did
years ago. / viii attempt to answer
the first question in a way that will I'M
clude the answer for the second and in
concluding / shall endeavOr 10 show why
the treatment which ! advance should
supplant the operative measures that hs~s
been so Historically forced upon the creu.
ulous public by ambitious surgeons
! have spoken of the location of the
appendix with relation to the large and
small bowels. geographically the appen-
dix and this juncture Of large and small
intestines are situated in the abdomen on
the right side, about midway between the
navel and the tip of the hip bone From
this point as a beginning the large bowel
runs upward TO the border of the ribs.
across the abdomen to the left and thence
downward and backward to its termina-
ton
A drainage engineer would tell you that
the mechanical plan Of this arrangement
was faulty 10 begin with. The semi-lquid
material received from the small intestine