Appendicitis progresses through four stages: simple (inflammation without complications), suppurative (inflammation with pus and ulcers), gangrenous (tissue death), and perforated (ruptured appendix).

The appendix is an organ we tend not to think about until it acts up, causes illness and needs to be removed surgically.

There are many, many different causes of stomach aches, from stress and medications to food poisoning and GI conditions. But when your minor stomach problems turn serious, they may mean you need your ...

For years, the appendix carried a reputation as the body’s most pointless organ. Doctors often removed it without hesitation, and textbooks labeled it a vestigial structure—something our ancestors ...

Q. A friend of mine was vacationing in Europe, and she developed acute appendicitis. She was treated with antibiotics and did not undergo an operation. I thought that appendectomy is the treatment of ...

Recent studies indicate the appendix helps maintain gut health by housing beneficial bacteria.

Appendicitis, or inflammation of your appendix, is one of the most common conditions of the abdomen that requires emergency surgery, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Your appendix doesn’t play a ...