DIVERTICULOSIS of the vermiform appendix, as of the colon proper, is characterized by the formation of pouches or pockets leading off from the lumen. They may be congenital or acquired. The congenital variety is rare and is characterized by the presence of all the layers of the appendiceal wall. The walls of acquired diverticula are formed by mucosa and submucosa, but the muscularis is absent or very attentuated. These diverticula are produced after an abnormal increase in muscular activity with increase in intra-appendicular pressure. Acquired diverticulum of the appendix was first described by Kelynak1 in 1893.
In 1926, Spriggs and Marxer2 recorded the first case in which the diagnosis was made radiologically. Most of the cases reported or described in the literature have been found accidentally, at operation or during routine autopsy examination.
In 1946, Gilmore and Mahan3 reported another case in which the diagnosis was made