brain-cavity itself, which any jar might set off, it could
hardly be richer in possibilities of danger.

A redeeming feature of appendicitis is that the appendix lies--so to
speak--in a corner, or wide-mouthed pouch, of the great peritoneal
cavity; and if the inflammation set up in it can be "walled off" from
the rest of the peritoneal cavity, and limited strictly to this little
corner or pouch, all will be well. This is what occurs in those cases of
severe appendicitis which spontaneously recover. If, however, this
disturbance bursts its barriers, and lights up an inflammation of the
entire peritoneal cavity, then the result is likely to be a fatal one.
Just how far nature can be trusted in each particular case to limit and
stamp out the process in this manner is the core of the problem that
confronts us, as attending physicians.

In the majority of cases, fortunately, the peritoneal fire brigade acts
promptly, pours out a wall of exudate, and locks up the appendix in a
living prison, to fight out its own battles and sink or swim by itself.
But unfortunately, in a minority of cases, by a wretched sort of
"senatorial courtesy" which exists in the body, the appendix is given
its ancestral or traditional rights and allowed to inflict its petty
troubles upon the entire abdominal cavity, and include the body in its
downfall.

Lastly come the two most pertinent and appealing questions:--

What is the outlook for me if I should develop appendicitis? And what is
to be done?

In regard to the first of these, it is safe to say that our answer is
much less alarming than it was in the earlier stage of our knowledge.
Naturally enough, in the beginning, only the severest and most
unmistakable forms of the disease and those which showed no tendency to
localization, were recognized, or at least came under the eye of the
surgeon; and as a large percentage of these resulted fatally, the
conclusion was reached, both in the medical profession and by the laity,
that appendicitis was an exceedingly dangerous disease, with a high
fatality in all cases. As, however, physicians became more expert in the
recognition of the disease, it was discovered to be vastly more common,
while side by side came the consoling knowledge that a considerable
percentage of cases got well of themselves, in the sense of the
inflammation being limited to the lower right-hand corner of the
abdominal cavity, though, of course, with the possibility of leaving a