Colonic diverticula are acquired herniations of the mucosa and of portions of the submucosa through the muscularis propria. Diverticular disease of the colon represents a continuum from an initial, prediverticular phase of marked muscular thickening of the colon wall (myochosis)…
In patients with known or suspected small bowel obstruction (SBO), the radiologist is called on to answer the following questions: Is the bowel obstructed? If so, what is the level of obstruction? What is the cause of obstruction? What is…
Clinical Considerations Crohn’s disease is an idiopathic inflammatory disease that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from the mouth to the anus. Patients with this disease have a genetic predilection to an abnormal immunologic response to environmental…
Esophageal carcinoma comprises less than 10% of all gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancers. Nevertheless, it is a deadly disease, with an overall 5-year survival rate of only about 15%. At one time, most esophageal cancers were thought to be squamous cell…