Beyond appendicitis; radiologic review of unusual and rare pathology of the appendix.

Abstract

Appendicitis is a very common cause of acute abdominal pathology, however, many other pathologic conditions of the appendix can be diagnosed utilizing CT. Examples of these conditions include primary appendiceal neoplasms, secondary inflammation of the appendix, stump appendicitis, endometriosis, appendicitis within a hernia, appendiceal diverticulosis and intussusception and intraluminal foreign bodies. The purpose of this article is to review appendiceal pathology outside of acute appendicitis, describe corresponding imaging findings on CT, and to illustrate various CT findings of appendiceal disease with representative cases.