Background: Mast cells are derived from the multipotent cells in the bone marrow and located at body sites that interface with the external environment such as the mucosa, skin, respiratory tract, and gastrointestinal mucosa.
Objective: (1) To compare the mast cell counts in acute appendicitis, chronic appendicitis, and appendix removed during other abdominal surgeries and (2) to investigate the role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of appendicitis.
Materials and Methods: One hundred fifty cases of appendix, except gangrenous appendicitis, were analyzed for mast cells counts. Qualitative data were represented in the form of frequencies and percentages. Quantitative data were represented in the form of mean and standard deviation (SD); ANOVA was the test of significance to compare the mean between the three groups.
Result: In this study, 150 cases of appendicitis were examined. The most common lesion that was noticed was acute appendicitis in 46 cases (30.66%), followed by chronic appendicitis in 39 cases (26%). Sixty-five (43.33%) cases were those whose appendix was incidentally removed during abdominal surgeries.
Conclusion: The mast cell count was the highest in chronic appendicitis when compared with acute and noninflamed appendices.
Key words: Appendicitis, mast cells, toluidine blue
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