Correct answer:

There is no strict time relationship for this chain of events. An appendix may occasionally perforate under 12 hours, but conversely it is not rare to see an acutely inflamed but not perforated appendix after 3 or 4 days. The effects of appendicular obstruction depend on the content of the appendix lumen. If bacteria are present, acute inflammation occurs; if, as sometimes happens, the appendix is empty, then a mucocele of the appendix results, owing to continued secretion of mucus from the goblet cells in the mucosal wall.