William Osler had cared for patients with ‘typhlitis’ and had seen perforations of the appendix in postmortem examinations before the day when he heard Reginald Heber Fitz proclaim that typhlitis was in fact disease of the appendix, that early surgery was indicated to treat perforation and that the process ought to be called ‘appendicitis’. This paper examines the evolution of Osler's thoughts about appendicitis and documents his changing recommendations for treatment as presented in the eight editions of his text published during his lifetime.
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References
1.
BlissM. William Osler: A Life in Medicine.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999: p. 151
2.
GoldenRL, ReginaldH. Fitz, appendicitis, and the Osler connection - a discursive review. Surgery1995; 118: 504-9
3.
FitzRF. Perforating inflammation of the vermiform appendix; with special reference to its early diagnosis and treatment. Transactions of the American Association of Physicians1886; 1: 107-44
4.
OslerW. Hernia of caecum and appendix; perforation of the latter; old perityphlitic abscess; recent larger one; general peritonitis. Reports of the Transactions of the Pathological Society of Philadelphia (1885-87)1887; xiii: 64-6
5.
OslerW. Cases of diseases of the appendix and caecum. Medical and Surgical Reporter, Philadelphia1888; lix: 419-22
6.
BlissM (op. cit. ref. 1): p. 89
7.
FitzRF (op. cit. ref. 3): p. 131
8.
MorrisonH. The chapter on appendicitis in a biography of Reginald Heber Fitz. Bulletin of the History of Medicine1946; 120: 264-5
9.
OslerW. Typhlitis and appendicitis. Canada Lancet1889; 21: 193-6
10.
McBurneyC. Experience with early operative interference in cases of disease of the vermiform appendix. New York Medical Journal1889; 50: 676-84
11.
McBurneyC. The incision made in the abdominal wall in cases of appendicitis, with a description of a new method of operating. Annals of Surgery1894; 20: 38-13
12.
OslerW. The Principles and Practice of Medicine: Designed for the Use of Practitioners and Students of Medicine.1st edn.New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1892
13.
Ibid.: pp. 405-6
14.
Ibid. pp. 7, 22-3
15.
Ibid.: pp. 406-13
16.
Ibid
17.
OslerW (op. cit. ref. 9; Second Edition, 1895): pp. 429-13
18.
DavilaML. Neutropenic enterocolitis. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology2006; 22: 44-7
19.
OslerW (op. cit. ref. 17)
20.
Ibid.: p. 440
21.
OslerW (op. cit. ref. 9; 3rd Edition, 1898): pp. 519-31
22.
OslerW (op. cit. ref. 9; 4th Edition, 1901) pp. 519-31
23.
OslerW (op. cit. ref. 9; 5th Edition, 1904): pp. 519-31
24.
OslerW (op. cit. ref. 9; 6th Edition, 1905): pp. 512-19
25.
OslerW (op. cit. ref. 9; 7th Edition, 1909): pp. 512-19
