Morphological Variations of Caecum and Appendix in the Central India: A Cadaveric Study

Abstract

One of the important reasons of acute abdomen is appendicitis and emergency surgery is needed many times to treat the condition. Different clinical presentations of appendicitis are observed because of the variations in anatomical location of the appendix. Anatomical and topographical variations of the caecum are also known. These unusual positions and presentations land the surgeon in diagnostic and surgical challenges. In this study, the anatomical variations of the caecum and appendix have been observed. The present study is aimed to study the variations in the size, shape, position and arterial supply of the caecum and appendix in individuals of different ages and sex, a thorough knowledge of which will aid surgeons in performing various abdominal operations. The study was carried out on 30 adult cadavers in the department of Anatomy, Government medical college, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Out of which 20 were male cadavers and 10 were female cadavers. The Anatomy of 30 caecum and 30 appendix was studied in detail. In most of the cadavers, the caecum and appendix were found in the right iliac fossa. The commonest shape of the caecum found, was adult (ampullary) type. The commonest position of the appendix found, was retro-caecal, followed by pelvic. This information is certainly helpful to the surgeons in locating the caecum and appendix during surgical interventions.