How to Remove an Appendix: Tales of the Most Dangerous and Misunderstood Body Part

The story of the tiny organ that sparked the rise of modern surgery

How to Remove an Appendix offers a sweeping, narrative history of surgery, using the enigmatic, worm-shaped appendix as a lens through which to tell the story of medicine's most common procedure. From primitive, pre-anesthetic efforts to modern robotic-assisted operations, this work reveals how the management of appendicitis mirrors the transformation of surgery from a dangerous art to a safe medical procedure.

Appendicitis h...