8
DEFINITION OF TERMS Appendectomy -
surgical operation to remove appendix.
Appendicitis -
inflammation of the appendix causing severe pain.
Appendix
- small outgrowth from large intestine, a bind-ended tube leading from the first of the large intestine (caecum), near its junction with the small intestine. In humans, it is small, occurs in the lower right hand part of the abdomen and contains cells of the immune system.
Colic -
severe pain in the bowel or the abdomen.
Constipation -
difficulty in passing stools or incomplete or infrequent passage of hard stools.
Fecalith
- hardened mass of stool.
Mc Burney’s Sign –
(Charles McBurney) a reaction of the patient indicating severe pain and extreme tenderness when
McBurney’s point is
palpated. Such reaction indicates appendicitis