Variation in Anatomical Position of Vermiform Appendix among Iranian Population: An Old Issue Which Has Not Lost Its Importance

Abstract

Vermiform appendix has diverse anatomical positions, lengths, and conditions of mesoappendix. Knowing the exact anatomical position of vermiform appendix is important in view of surgeons for on-time diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis. The aim of present study is determination of these characteristics of vermiform appendix among Iranian population. The present study was conducted on 200 bodies, selected from the dead bodies that had been referred to local bureau of legal medicine, Zenjan province, Iran, for medicolegal autopsy since 21 Mar 2010 to 21 Mar 2011. According to the results, the anatomical positions of the appendix were pelvic, subcecal, retroileal, retrocecal, ectopic, and preileal in 55.8%, 19%, 12.5%, 7%, 4.2%, and 1.5% of the bodies, respectively. The mean length of vermiform appendix was 91.2 mm and 80.3 mm in men and women, respectively. Mesoappendix was complete in 79.5% of the bodies. No association was found between sex and anatomical position of vermiform appendix. Anterior anatomical position was the most common position for vermiform appendix. It is inconsistent with most related reports from western countries. It might be possible that some factors, such as race, geographical changes, and dietary habits, play roles in determining the position of vermiform appendix.

Correlation between Age of Subjects and Length of the Appendix in Bundelkhand Region of India

“…They also reported that individuals with older age have a longer length of the appendix similar to the findings of present study. [13] Contrary to our finding one study in Bangladesh on 56 males reported no significant negative correlation between age of the subject and length of the appendix [15] , while another study in Bangladesh on 60 postmortem cases showed a highly significant negative correlation between age of the subject and length of appendix. [16] The cause of such gradual increment in appendix length with age in this study might be accounted to dietary habits and racial difference.…”

“…[12] They proposed that after an initial growth period during early infancy up to about 3 years, the appendix achieves its adult proportions and does not continue to grow throughout childhood. [12] In some other studies on 200 bodies from Iranian population [13] and 60 cadavers of the Sudanese population [14] , they found a significant association between the appendix length and different age groups. They also reported that individuals with older age have a longer length of the appendix similar to the findings of present study.…”

Anatomical Variations of Vermiform Appendix in Gujarat

“…After the completion of the gut rotation, the caecal diverticulum occupies a position on the right side of the abdominal cavity [9]. In our study, mean age of individual was 38.7 years which comparable with the similar study done by Ghorbani A et al [12]. In present study, the most common position of appendix was retrocaecaland the lowest was subhepatic position.…”

Morphological variations of the vermiform appendix in Iranian cadavers: a study from developing countries

“…The average length of appendix was 6.61 cm in males and 6.06 cm in females in Gorgan [10]. Tofighi in Tehran [24] and Ghorbani et al [9] in Zanjan have reported that the mean length of appendix was 9.12 cm in males and 8.03 cm in females. In addition, significant correlation was found between appendix weight and age, which was consistent with our finding [11].…”

“…The mean length of appendix was reported 6.03 cm in Thailand [5]. This value obtained for weight ranges from 6.33 cm to 8.57 cm in Iranian population [9,10,24]. The common position of the appendix was retrocaecal in India [3,15,22,25], retroileal in Thailand and pelvic in Iran [9,10,24].…”