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ACUTE INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION SECONDARY TO MECKEL'S DIVERTICULA

1954; American Medical Association; Volume: 69; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1001/archsurg.1954.01270010030006

2376-3566

Donald P. Chance,

Gastrointestinal disorders and treatments

JOHANN FRIEDRICH MECKEL, a German anatomist and surgeon, in a series of writings between 1808 and 1812* gave the first adequate description and explanation of the embryologic origin of the diverticulum which now bears his name, but its existence has been previously referred to in the medical writings of Hildanus, Lavater, Ruysch, Littre and Morgagni.11Today it is known to be one of the commonest congenital anomalies, occurring in 1 to 3% of all cases in which necropsy is performed. In the past 75 years Meckel's diverticulum has occupied a prominent place in the medical literature, not because of the anomaly itself, but because of the serious surgical complications which may arise from the diverticulum and manifest themselves in a number of ways. The most frequent clinical picture is that of massive intestinal hemorrhage, followed in turn by acute or chronic intestinal obstruction, localized or generalized peritonitis, vague and