Vermiform appendix
Appendix vermiformis
DigestiveOrgansAbdomen
- What it is
- Narrow, worm-like blind tube opening from the posteromedial wall of the cecum about 2 cm below the ileocecal valve, where the three taeniae coli converge; shown in the common pelvic-hanging position (retrocecal is most common).
- Function
- Its wall is packed with lymphoid tissue, and it may serve as a safe-house that re-seeds the colon with helpful bacteria after diarrhoeal illness.
- Size
- Usually 6-10 cm long (average about 8 cm), about 6 mm wide.
- Clinical note
- Appendicitis is the commonest abdominal surgical emergency; pain classically moves from the umbilicus to McBurney's point, one-third of the way from the right anterior superior iliac spine to the umbilicus.