[Pathology of appendicitis]

Acute appendicitis represents one of the most common inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Acute appendicitis is most frequently based on the coincidence of obstruction, reduced blood supply, ischemic damage of the mucosa, and bacterial infection. Inflammation at other abdominal sites may also involve the appendix in 7% of cases causing periappendicitis. In 15-20% there are no pathologic findings of acute inflammation but rather post-inflammatory residues and a neuroma-like proliferation of Schwann cells, typically found in neurogenic appendicopathy. This finding may in part explain the clinical symptoms.