[Bacterial flora in the appendix in rabbits with artificially induced acute appendicitis]

The authors present the results of bacteriological analysis of scrapings from the appendical mucosa of 24 rabbits with appendicitis induced by obstruction of the appendix lumen and of 5 rabbits with healthy appendices (controls). In dependence on the duration of inflammation, the recovery of aerobic bacteria was decreasing and that of anaerobic nonsporulating bacteria was increasing. In the group of anaerobic bacteria, gram-negative rods were predominant (number of isolated colonies: 2973 = 79.9%, variation range of occurrence: 10(5)-10(8) per 1 gram of material) with a remarkable prevalence of the genus Bacteroides and particularly of the species Bacteroides fragilis. Compared to the occurrence in appendices with inflammation, the recovery of bacteria in controls was minimal. The work served as model in studying pathogenesis of acute appendicitis in human medicine. (Tab. 3, Ref. 12.)