Bacteriology of the appendix and the ileum in health and in appendicitis.

The bacteriology of the ileum and the appendix in appendicitis patients with or without perforation and compared with patients who had "incidental appendectomy" was studied. Of 42 appendicitis patients, 24 (57%) of them had anaerobic bacteria in the appendix compared with two of eight (25%) with normal appendix. Anaerobes were found in the ileal aspirates of 20 of 42 (47.6%) appendicitis patients and two of eight (25%) in normal persons. This suggests that anaerobic bacteria increasingly colonize the appendix and the ileum in cases of appendicitis.