5. Small & large intestines Flashcards
Diseases of the small & large intestines
- Congenital anomalies
- Meckel diverticulum
- Hirschsprung Disease (Congenital Aganglionic Megacolon) - Intestinal obstruction
- Angiodysplasia
- Ischemic bowel disease
- Infectious enterocolitis
- Intestinal ameobiasis
- Intestinal tuberculosis - Acute appendicitis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Crohn disease
- Ulcerative colitis - Diverticular disease
- Polyps
- Hyperplastic polyps
- Hamartomatous polyps
- Inflammatory polyps
- Adenomatous polyps - Neoplasms
- Colorectal carcinoma
- Neoplasms of the small intestines
- Neoplasms of the anal canal
Meckel Diverticulum
- Blind outpouching of gastrointestinal tract that has all 4
layers of the wall (a true diverticulum)
- Due to failure of involution of the vitelline duct
- Hence found in the ileum, on the anti-mesenteric aspect of the bowel - Mucosal lining may be:
- Intestinal mucosa
- Ectopic pancreatic mucosa
- Ectopic gastric mucosa (may cause peptic ulceration
of adjacent normal intestinal mucosa, leading to occult bleeding & abdominal pain mimicking acute appendicitis & intestinal obstruction)
Pathogenesis of Hirschsprung Disease
- Premature arrest of normal migration of neural crest cells from caecum to rectum or premature death of ganglion cells
- As such, distal intestinal segments lack both submucosal (Meissner’s) plexus & myenteric (Auerbach’s) plexus – aganglionosis
- This results in a lack of coordinated peristaltic contractions, leading to a functional obstruction, resulting in a dilation of the intestinal segment proximal to the affected segment
Pathological effects & complications of Hirschsprung Disease
- Intestinal obstruction & dilation
2. Rupture of colonic wall
Causes of intestinal obstruction
- Mechanical obstruction
- Hernias
i. Can occur through the umbilicus, inguinal or femoral canals & at sites of surgical scars
ii. Produces intestinal obstruction as well as vascular obstruction
- Adhesions
i. Formed due to peritoneal inflammation following surgery, infections etc
ii. Can form closed loops through which other viscera can slide & get entrapped, producing an internal herniation - Volvulus
i. Complete twisting of a loop of bowel about its mesenteric base of attachment
ii. Occurs most commonly in the sigmoid colon
iii. Produces intestinal obstruction as well as vascular obstruction (due to twisting of vessels running within the mesentery) - Intussusception
i. Occurs when a segment of intestine constricted by a wave of peristalsis telescopes into the immediately distal segment
ii. Occurs most commonly in young children
iii. In older children or adults, an intraluminal mass (e.g. a tumour) serves as the point of traction that cause intussusceptions - Strictures, atresias
- Imperforate anus
i. Due to failure of involution of the cloacal membrane - Obstructive gallstones, fecalith, foreign bodies
- Tumour
- Functional obstructions
- Bowel infarction
- Neurogenic paralytic ileus
i. Post-GI surgical procedures
ii. Metabolic acidosis (e.g. in diabetic ketoacidosis)
iii. Hypothyroidism
iv. Drug-induced (e.g. opiates)
v. Spinal cord injury above T5 level - Loss of ganglion cells
i. Hirschsprung disease
ii. Chagas’ disease
iii. Toxic megacolon in ulcerative colitis
Pathological Effects & Complications of intestinal obstruction
- Abdominal pain & distention
- Vomiting & constipation
- Bowel rupture/perforation
Definition of angiodysplasia
Malformed submucosal & mucosal blood vessels (ectatic nests of tortuous veins, venules & capillaries) most commonly found in the caecum & right colon; idiopathic in nature
Associations of angiodysplasia
- Congenital associations:
- Aortic stenosis
- Meckel diverticulum - Mechanical associations:
- Normal distension & contraction of gut may intermittently occlude submucosal veins, leading to focal dilation & tortuosity of proximal vessels
Pathological effects & complications of angiodysplasia
Rupture & bleeding
Causes of ischemic bowel disease
- Arterial thrombosis
- Atherosclerosis
- Vasculitis
- Hypercoagulable states - Arterial embolism
- Cardiac vegetations (e.g. in infective endocarditis)
- Aortic atheroembolism - Venous thrombosis
- Hypercoagulable states
- Oral contraceptives
- Sepsis - Non-occlusive causes of ischemia
- Congestive heart failure
- Shock, dehydration
- Vasoconstrictive drugs - Miscellaneous
- Radiation
- Volvulus
- Herniations
- Adhesions
Pathogenesis of ischemic bowel disease
- Major variables in ischemic bowel disease:
- Time frame (acute vs insidious occlusion)
- Severity of vascular compromise
- Vessels affected (whether it is the celiac, superior
mesenteric or inferior mesenteric artery; whether it is
a proximal large branch or distal small branch) - 2 aspects of intestinal vascular anatomy affecting
distribution of ischemic damage:
- Intestinal capillaries run alongside glands, from crypt to surface, before making a hairpin turn at the surface to empty into post-capillary venules, hence surface epithelium most susceptible to ischemia
- Watersheds – intestinal segments at the end of their respective arterial supplies – are most prone to ischemia due to low perfusion pressures; the 2 watersheds are the splenic flexure & rectosigmoidal region - Resultant bowel infarction may take several forms:
- Mucosal: no deeper than muscularis mucosae
- Mural: mucosa + submucosa
- Transmural: full-thickness of wall
* **Note: acute/chronic hypoperfusion tends to give rise to mucosal or mural infarction, whereas acute vascular obstruction tends to give rise to transmural infarction
Pathological Effects & Complications of ischemic bowel disease
- Functional intestinal obstruction
- Abdominal pain, distension, vomiting - Bleeding
- May present with bloody diarrhea - Necrosis of gut wall smooth muscle
- Diminished bowel sounds - Perforation & peritonitis
- Gram-negative bacteraemia & endotoxic shock
Causes of Infectious Enterocolitis
- Bacteria
- Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, Campylobacter, Yersinia, Clostridium, Tropheryma whippelii, Mycobacteria - Viruses
- Rotavirus, enteric adenovirus, HSV, CMV, EBV - Fungi (typically in immunosuppressed)
- Candida, Aspergillus, Mucor, Histoplasma - Protozoa
- Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidia - Helminths
- Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichuria
Causative organism of intestinal ameobiasis
Entamoeba histolytica
Pathogenesis of intestinal ameobiasis
- Faecal-oral transmission
- Ingested cysts release trophozoites which invade
colonic epithelium (specifically in the caecum &
ascending colon) - Amoebic proteins aid invasion (proteinases, lectin,
amoebapore) - Results in diffuse colitis with flask-shaped ulcers
Morphology of intestinal ameobiasis
- Amoebomas
- Flask-shaped ulcers with shaggy edges, forming a napkin-like constrictive mass (due to lateral burrowing in the lamina propria after initial invasion by trophozoites)
Pathological effects & complications of intestinal ameobiasis
- Bloody diarrhea with mucous, intestinal pain, fever
2. Liver abscesses (via haematogenous portal spread)
Causative organism of intestinal tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Pathogenesis of intestinal tuberculosis
- May be primary involvement or secondary involvement (e.g. in miliary TB)
- Typically occurs in the ileocaecal region
Morphology of intestinal tuberculosis
- Circumferential ulcers (parallels direction of lymphatic drainage towards mesentery)
- Mural thickening, strictures
- Regional lymphadenopathy
- Caseating granulomas
Causes of acute appendicitis
Obstruction of lumen by:
- Faecolith
- Foreign matter
- Lymphoid hyperplasia
Pathogenesis of acute appendicitis
- Stasis of luminal contents allows for multiplication of luminal bacteria
- Invasion of mucosa & wall
- Acute inflammatory response
- Necrosis & ulceration ensues
Morphology of acute appendicitis
- Edema & turgidity
- Congestion & hemorrhage
- Fibrinopurulent exudate (neutrophilic infiltrate)
- Necrosis & ulceration
Pathological Effects & Complications of acute appendicitis
- Abdominal pain
- Initially: referred pain to umbilical region
- Later: localized pain in right iliac fossa (due to irritation of overlying parietal peritoneum)
- ***Note: atypical positions of appendix can give rise to pain in atypical areas (retrocaecal appendix gives right flank pain, appendix in malrotated colon gives left upper quadrant pain) - Nausea, vomiting, low-grade fever, mildly elevated peripheral white cell count
- Perforation
- Generalized peritonitis
- Pelvic abscesses
- Subphrenic abscesses
Definition of inflammatory bowel disease
Refers to the 2 idiopathic inflammatory bowel conditions: Crohn disease & Ulcerative Colitis
Etiology & Pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease
- Genetic predispositions:
- Familial aggregations, HLA studies - Associated infectious agents:
- Mycobacterium paratuberculosis - Abnormal host immunoreactivity
- Host immunity is stimulated & then fails to down-regulate itself
Location of Crohn disease
Terminal ileum +/- colon
Distribution of Crohn disease
Skip lesions
Nature of inflammation of Crohn disease
Chronic (non-caseating granulomatous in 35%)
Extent of inflammation of Crohn disease
Transmural, producing deep ulcers/fissures
Fibrosis in Crohn disease
Marked, strictures
Gut wall in Crohn disease
Thickened with narrowed lumen (produces string sign in barium xray)
Sinuses & fistulae in Crohn disease
Present
Complications of Crohn disease
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Malignancy risk
- Perforation & peritonitis
Location of Ulcerative colitis
Rectum & distal colon