Mesenteric ischemia represents insufficient perfusion of the mesentery to meet the metabolic demands of the splanchnic system. Understanding the etiology and presentation of the different forms of mesenteric ischemia is pivotal to the prompt diagnosis and treatment of this often…
The focus of this chapter is limited to describing the embryology, anatomy, and physiology of the mesenteric circulation. The terms mesenteric circulation and splanchnic circulation are sometimes used interchangeably; however, they have distinct meanings. The mesenteric circulation refers specifically to…
Surgical procedures typically involve excision, resection, or transection to address a pathologic situation. Subsequent reconstruction, which includes maneuvers to secure a restoration of function, often allows the choice of a variety of methods. Surgical and general medical principles, safeguards, and…
Ileostomy is an intestinal stoma fashioned from the distal small intestine. Although the creation of an ileostomy can be the smallest part of a larger surgery, the stoma can have the most significant physical and psychosocial effect on a patient.…
In infants and children, small intestinal disorders encompass a wide spectrum of congenital and acquired conditions distinct from those seen in adults. Congenital lesions, such as rotational anomalies, duodenal or jejunoileal atresia, meconium ileus, omphalomesenteric remnants, and duplication cysts, are…
The incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) increased significantly in the United States and worldwide in the last two decades of the 20th century; most of this increase has been attributed to the HIV epidemic. The incidence of NHL appeared to…
Epidemiology Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal, or nonepithelial, neoplasms of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. GISTs may be found anywhere in the GI tract, from the esophagus to the internal anal sphincter. The most common GI location…
In 1867 Theodor Langhans reported the first description of a carcinoid tumor in a 50-year-old woman with a mushroom-shaped small bowel tumor that contained nesting glandular structures within a fibrous stroma. Otto Lubarsch subsequently described autopsy findings of two patients…
The “normal” length of an adult human's small intestine has been estimated between 20 and 22 feet, or 609 and 670 cm. Past estimates of normal small intestine length have been between 300 and 800 cm, and this variability is based on…
The first record of radiation enteritis was described in 1897 and involved transient symptoms of pain and diarrhea that correlated with radiation exposure. The symptoms did not return after a lead shield was used during the experiments. Fifty to 70%…