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Historical Background, Anatomy and Function, Etiology and Epidemiology

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Imaging of Acute Appendicitis in Adults and Children

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

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Abstract

This introduction presents the history of the recognition of the appendix as the organ responsible for a disease with a high mortality rate in the previous century and called acute appendicitis. This history reveals examples of resistance to changing concepts and brilliant early observations that were not easily accepted in the medical community. The anatomy of the appendix is nowadays well known but its function remains unclear. Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdominal pain that requires surgery but, for a disease that is prevalent and apparently simple, there is currently little that is well established on its etiology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik, 808, 1070, Brussels, Belgium

    Caroline Keyzer

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  1. Caroline Keyzer
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Correspondence to Caroline Keyzer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Radiology, Hôpital Erasme, Route de Lennik 808, Brussels, 1070, Belgium

    Caroline KEYZER

  2. Hôspital Erasme, Department of Radiology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, Brussels, 1070, Belgium

    Pierre Alain Gevenois

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Keyzer, C. (2012). Historical Background, Anatomy and Function, Etiology and Epidemiology. In: KEYZER, C., Gevenois, P. (eds) Imaging of Acute Appendicitis in Adults and Children. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_210

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_210

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-17871-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-17872-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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