The Function of the Appendix

New York, Sept. 20, 1901. To the Editor: —On page 852 ofThe Journalfor Sept. 28, 1901, I find a report of a paper read by Dr. E. P. Hershey, Denver, dealing with the question of the function of the appendix. Dr. Hershey apparently believes that the secretions of the appendix are important in their influence on bowel contents, but we know that such secretions are trifling in amount and not different from those of the cecum. Most of the appendices upon which I have operated have had their function already destroyed by bacteria. Further than that, we know that during middle life the appendix is prone to undergo normal involution changes, so that in later life there is little if any secreting surface left. Dr. Hershey says of the cecum: "This cul-de-sac is the most inviting place for the accumulations of feces. The mass remains here and would