Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/263

LEFT APPENDIX VERMIFORMIS 211 APPIUS of bone, small shot, gallstones, beans, pins and other objects have caused fatal perforation of the appendix. The appendix is an organ which ap- pears to have no actual use in the pres- ent machinery of man, but in the earlier stages of man's development it is be- lieved to have been a large pouch which played an important part in the digestive operations of the human system. By ages of disuse it has gradually shrunk to its present dimensions, and is known to »;ience as a vestigral organ. It is one of the most delicate and vital parts of the body, in the peritoneal cavity, usually to the right of the center of the abdomen, but in rare instances it has been found on the left side, and, still more rarely, otherwise placed. Until a comparatively recent period the frequent and fatal part played by the vermiform appendix in peritoneal disorders, and especially in septic peri- tonitis, has not been understood by the medical profession. When ^ it was once proved that the poison which produced septic peritonitis came from the breaking down and consequent perforation or from abscess of the appendix the very root of one of man's worst ailments was laid bare. Further practice established be- yond a doubt that in a large majority of cases the appendix could be removed by a single surgical operation and the pa- tient restored to vigorous health if the disease was discovered in time and cor- rectly diagnosed. The surgeons now re- gard the operation itself as one of the most simple, but to obtain the best re- sults it should take place within a few hours after the patient begins to suffer from the disease. Appendicitis usually occurs between the ages of 10 and 50 years. It is rare above or below those ages. It is more frequent among males than females, the exact proportion being unknown. APPENDIX VERMIPORMIS, a worm-like rudimentary process, which hangs from the caecum or first part of the large intestine. It is from three to six inches in length, the upper end open- ing into the csecum and the lower end be- ing closed. It lies in the abdominal cavity just above the right groin and its functions are unknown. APPENZELL, a canton of Switzer- land, in the northeastern part of that country. It is in the midst of beautiful Alpine scenery, and has excellent pas- ture land, but little agriculture. The Sitter is the chief river. The canton is composed of two half cantons, Ausser- rhoden and Innerrhoden. Each has an independent local government. The lat- 15— Vol. I— Cyo ter is almost entirely Roman Catholic, while the former is Protestant. The cap- ital of the canton is Trogen with a pop- ulation of about 2,500. Innerrhoden has a population of about 15,000, and Ausserrhoden about 60,000. APPEBCEPTION, a psychological term denoting the mental act and faculty of writing or relating ideas or other mental states in groups or larger wholes of any part. A particular object or idea is said to be apperceived when it is taken up into an earlier complex mental state and put into appropriate connection with its parts. It goes further than Associa- tion OF Ideas (q. v.), since it recognizes the fact that the mind proceeds accord- ing to a more or less systematic plan and selects its materials and thus involves constructive imagination; while associa- tion deals with a more or less mechanical revival of ideas, according to their acci- dental contiguities and resemblances. APPIAN WAY, the great Roman highway constructed by Appius Claudius, from Rome to Capua, and afterward ex- tended to Brundusium, and finished B. C. 312. APPIUS, CLAUDIUS (ap'e-us), sur- named Caecus, or the Blind, an ancient Roman, elected censor B. c. 312, which office he held four years. While in this position he made every effort to weaken the power of the plebs, and constructed the road and aqueduct named after him. He was subsequently twice consul, and once dictator. In his old age he became blind. He is the earliest Roman wi'iter of prose and verse whose name we know. APPIUS CLAUDIUS CRASSINUS, a Roman decemvir (451 to 449 F c). Be- ing passionately in love with Virginia, daughter of Virginius, a respectable plebeian absent with the army, he per- suaded M. Claudius, his client, to gain possession of her, under the pretense that she was the daughter of one of his slaves. The people compelled him to set her at liberty; but Claudius summoned her before the tribunal of Appius, who decided that the pretended slave should be given up to her master. A fearful disturbance arose, and the decemvir was compelled to leave Virginia in the hands of her family. Virginius, hurriedly re- called from the army, appeared and claimed his daughter; but, after another mock trial, she was again adjudged to be the property of Marcus Claudius. To save his daughter from dishonor Vii*- ginius slew her. The army returned to Rome with Virginius, who had carried the news to them, and the decemviri