Appari´tion, according to a belief held by some, a disembodied spirit manifesting itself to mortal sight; according to the common theory an illusion involuntarily generated, by means of which figures or forms, not present to the actual sense, are nevertheless depicted with a vividness and intensity sufficient to create a temporary belief in their reality. Such illusions are now generally held to result from an over-excited brain, a strong imagination, or some bodily malady. In perfect health the mind not only possesses a control over its powers, but the
impressions of the external objects alone occupy its attention, and the play of imagination is consequently checked, except in sleep, when its operations are relatively more feeble and faint. But in an unhealthy state of the mind, when its attention is partly withdrawn from the contemplation of external objects, the impressions of its own creation, or rather reproduction, will either overpower or combine themselves with the impressions of external objects, and thus generate illusions which in the one case appear alone, while in the other they are seen projected among those external objects to which the eyeball is directed. This theory explains satisfactorily a large majority of the stories of apparitions; still there are some which it seems insufficient to account for.—See Crystal Gazing, Hypnotism, Spiritualism.—Bibliography: F. Podmore, Modern Spiritualism; F. W. H. Myers, Human Personality, and its survival of bodily Death.
Appeal´, in legal phraseology, the removal of a cause from an inferior tribunal to a superior, in order that the latter may revise, and if it seem needful reverse or amend, the decision of the former. The supreme court of appeal for Great Britain is the House of Lords. Certain defects in connection with the settlement of appeals by this body were remedied by the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, while a new court of appeal was established as a division of the Supreme Court of Judicature. In Ireland there is also a Court of Appeal similar to that in England; while in Scotland the highest court is the Court of Session. From the decisions of the Indian and all colonial courts, and the courts of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, appeal may be made to the Privy Council. Appeals from the decisions of justices of a borough or county may be made to the quarter-sessions of either respectively, in cases of summary jurisdiction, or upon a point of law to divisional courts of the High Court of Justice, which was established at the same time as the Court of Appeal; from quarter-sessions, county and other inferior courts, to the High Court. In Scotland the Court of Session reviews the decisions of the county courts, there being an appeal from its decisions to the House of Lords.—In France the court of final appeal in all cases is the cour de cassation.—In the United States the system of appeals differs in different States.
Appearance in law is the first formal act incumbent on a defendant who intends to resist the claim in the writ or action served upon him. It consists usually in lodging in court a written notice stating simply that the defendant intends to dispute the claim. Failure to enter appearance within the prescribed time entails decree passing against the defendant in absence, but procedure exists in all courts for enabling such decrees to be recalled within a limited period. Appearance should be entered under protest if it is desired to dispute the jurisdiction of the court or the regularity of the writ.
Appendicitis, a disease which has become well known in recent times through the more accurate methods of diagnosis and the increased safety of surgical operation. It is caused by inflammation of the vermiform appendix, a narrow, hollow, worm-like body from 2 to 4 inches long, opening at one end into the large intestine and forming a cul-de-sac at the other. In appendicitis the inflammation begins in the appendix and frequently spreads to the neighbouring parts, causing inflammation of the cæcum, a condition known as perityphlitis. The most frequent cause of appendicitis is a hard piece of insufficiently-digested food becoming lodged in the appendix. Occasionally orange pips, grape stones, &c., are the cause, though not so often as is popularly supposed.
The symptoms are: abdominal pain (especially low down at the right side), fever, nausea, vomiting, constipation; these varying according to the intensity of the attack. Three types are recognized:
1. A mild type, when the symptoms subside in a few days and the patient soon appears to be in normal health.
2. A severe type, in which, if left alone, the appendix bursts into the abdominal cavity and death from general peritonitis results.
3. Another type, in which the inflammation in the appendix leads to the formation of a localized abscess, sometimes of great size.
The treatment for the severe and for the abscess-forming types is essentially immediate operation; while for the mild type operation may either be performed at once or after the attack has passed off. Anyone who has had one attack of appendicitis is liable to have it repeated in a much severer form, hence the advisability of having the appendix removed after the first attack, however slight. During an attack, prior to surgical interference, complete rest in bed is essential. Abdominal pain should be treated with frequent hot fomentations, and the diet should be reduced to small quantities of fluid.