Acute appendicitis is the most important cause of abdominal pain requiring surgical intervention in the Western world. The early diagnosis of this disease is of paramount relevance for minimizing its morbidity. Imaging methods have represented a huge progress in the diagnosis of this entity, which used to be based essentially on clinical history, physical examination and laboratory tests results, considering that 20% to 33% of patients present with atypical symptoms. Diagnostic difficulty is higher in children, the elderly, and women in childbearing age. The main imaging methods for evaluation of acute appendicitis are ultrasound and computed tomography. The present study is aimed at describing the disease physiopathology, commenting main computed tomography technical aspects, demonstrating and illustrating tomographic findings, and describing main differential diagnoses.

Keywords: Acute appendicitis, Vermiform appendix, Computed tomography