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Ultrastructure of the normal and diseased appendix and cecum

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Ultrastructure of the Digestive Tract

Part of the book series: Electron Microscopy in Biology and Medicine ((EMBM,volume 4))

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Abstract

The ultrastructure of the gut has received widespread attention over the years and has been summarized in two previous atlases on this subject (1,2). Reports on small intestinal fine structure have been most numerous, while ultra-structural findings of the adjacent cecum and appendix have been perhaps the least reported. This paradoxical situation, in view of the clinical attention given to the appendix, is likely to be reversed as the functional significance and immunological role of the appendix becomes further elucidated. The present chapter briefly describes a current view of the ultrastructure of the appendix and cecum in both normal and pathological situations from a comparative perspective of human and lower animal species.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Vet. Biosciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, 24061, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Carl J. Pfeiffer

  2. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, 509 Medical Science Building, T6G 2H7, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Brian R. Macpherson

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  1. Carl J. Pfeiffer
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  2. Brian R. Macpherson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    P. M. Motta M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Department of Anatomy, Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan

    H. Fujita M.D.

  3. Department of Anatomy, University Medical School, Rome, Italy

    S. Correr Ph.D.

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© 1988 Martinus Nijhoff Publishing, Boston

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Pfeiffer, C.J., Macpherson, B.R. (1988). Ultrastructure of the normal and diseased appendix and cecum. In: Motta, P.M., Fujita, H., Correr, S. (eds) Ultrastructure of the Digestive Tract. Electron Microscopy in Biology and Medicine, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2071-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2071-5_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9229-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2071-5

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