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IPLab:Lab 3:Acute Appendicitis

Revision as of 16:04, 3 January 2014 by Seung Park (talk | contribs)

Contents

Clinical SummaryEdit

This 11-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with a complaint of 8 hours of severe pain in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Additional features on admission included a temperature of 101° F and a leukocytosis of 21,200 cells/mm³ with a shift to the left. An exploratory laparotomy revealed an inflamed appendix, retrocecal in location, which was adherent to the wall of the colon.

Autopsy FindingsEdit

The serosal surface of the appendix was covered with friable granular material. The lumen was dilated and contained a purulent exudate as well as a fecalith. The wall measured up to 0.4 cm in thickness.

ImagesEdit

Virtual MicroscopyEdit

Study QuestionsEdit


Additional ResourcesEdit

A normal white blood cell count is 4,000 to 11,000 cells per cubic mm.

A shift to the left indicates an increased ratio of immature PMNs (bands) to mature PMNs (segs).

Friable material is easily crumbled.

A fecalith is a hardened collection of fecal matter formed within the intestine.

An infiltrate is an accumulation of cells in the lung parenchyma--this is a sign of pneumonia.