CTC GI Flashcards
What are the A Ring, B Ring, and Z Line of the esophagus?
A Ring = Muscular ring above the vestibule
B Ring = Mucosal ring below the vestibule. Thin construction at the EG junction. Dysphagia can happen if it’s <13 mm in diameter. If it’s narrowed you call it a Schatzki.
Z Line = Squamocolumnar junction (boundary between the esophageal and gastric epithelium). Doesn’t necessarily correspond with the B-ring. Endoscopic finding.
What is a Schatzki Ring?
Narrowed B Ring - mucosal line at the GE junction.
What is the true upper esophageal sphincter?
Cricopharyngeus muscle - start of the esophagus - boundary between the cervical esphagus and the pharynx.
What is Eosinophilic Esophagitis?
Young man with long history of dysphagia (and atopia, and peripheral eosinophilia).
Barium shows concentric rings (distinct look).
fail treatment with PPIs, but get better with steroids.
What is esophageal candidiasis?
Discrete plaque-like lesions.
Nodularity, granularity, and fold thickening b/c of mucosal inflamation and edema.
Most severe, shaggy, irregular luminal surface.
Glycogen Acanthosis: Mimic- multiple elevated nodules in an asymptomatic elderly patient.
Cause of esophageal ulcers
Herpes - multiple with halo of edema (Herpes has a halo)
CMV and HIV: Large flat ulcer - look the same.
High stricture with associated hiatal hernia?
Barretts.
Reticular mucosal pattern.
Scenarios of squamous esophageal cancer vs adenocarcinoma
Need to distinguish between stage 3 (adventitia) and stage 4 (invasion into adjacent structures)
Squamous: Black guy who drinks and smokes, tried to kill himself with an alkaloid ingestion (drank lye). Stricture/ulcer/mass is in the mid esophagus
Adeno: White guy, stressed all the time. Chronic reflux (history of PPI use). Scope years ago that showed Barretts and he did nothing. Stricture/ulcer/mass is in the lower esophagus.
Uphill vs Downhill Varices
Uphill - portal HTN. Confined to bottom half of esophagus.
Downhill - SVC obstruction (catheter related or tumor related). Confined to top half of esophagus.
Area of weakness in Zenker Diverticulum?
Killian Dehiscence or triangle
Arises from the hypopharynx, not the cervical esophagus.
Difference between traction and pulsion diverticulum?
Traction = Triangular and will empty
Pulsion = Round and will NOT empty (contain no muscle in their walls).
What are epiphrenic diverticula?
Located just above the diaphragm - usually on the right.
Pulsion types - associated with motor abnormality.
What is Esophageal Pseudodiverticulosis?
Dilated submucosal glands that cause multiple small out pouchings.
Chronic reflux esophagitis
What are esophageal webs?
MC located at the cervical esphagus (near the cricopharyngeus)
Basically a ring caused by a thin mucosal membrane.
Risk for esophageal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma.
Plummer-Vinson Syndrome: Iron deficiency anemia, dysphagia, thyroid issues, “spoon-shaped nails”
What is Vigorous Achalasia?
Early/less severe form with the addition of repetitive simultaneous non-propulsive contractions.
What is Pseudoachalasia?
Secondary achalasia - has the appearance, but 2/2 a cancer at the GE junction.
Achalasia will eventually relax, but pseudo won’t.
Locations of lesions in the stomach?
H Pylori: Antrum
Zollinger-Ellison: Ulcerations in the stomach (jejunal ulcer is the buzzword). Duodenal bulb is actually the MC location in ZE.
Crohns: Uncommon in stomach, but when it is, in the antrum
Menetrier’s: Fundus (classically spares the antrum)
Lymphoma: “Crosses the Pylorus” - although adenocarcinoma does it more.
What is Gardner Syndrome?
FAP (hyperplastic stomach, adenomatous bowel polyps) + Desmoid tumors, osteomas, papillary thyroid cancer
What is Turcots?
FAP (hyperplastic stomach, adenomatous bowel polyps) + gliomas and medulloblastomas.
What is Hereditary nonpolyposis syndrome (Lynch)?
DNA Mismatch repair
Get cancer everywhere in everything
What is Peutz-Jeghers?
Hamartomas
Mucocutaneous Pigmentation
Small and large bowel CA + GYN CA
What is Cowden Syndrome?
Breast CA, thyroid CA, Lhermitte-Dulcose (posterior fossa noncancerous brain tumor)
What is a GIST?
MC mesenchymal tumor of the GI tract (70% in stomach)
Rare before 40
A 90 degree angle is often formed between the edges of the mass and the normal gastric wall.
Can be nasty and met locally or distally - LN enlargement is NOT a classic feature. Malignant GIST tend to be large (>10 cm)
Syndromes:
Carney Triad: Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma, GIST, Pulmonary chondroma (hamartoma)
NF-1
What Syndromes is GIST associated with?
Carney Triad: Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma, GIST, Pulmonary chondroma (hamartoma)
NF-1
Findings of Malignant vs Benign ulcers?
Malignant: Width>Depth Located w/in lumen Nodular, irregular edges Folds adjacent to ulcer Carmen Meniscus Sign
Benign: Depth>Width Project behind the expected lumen Sharp contour Folds radiate to ulcer Hampton's Line
What is Gastric Lymphoma?
Primary (MALT) or 2/2 to systemic lymphoma.
Stomach is MC extranodal site for NHL.
Even with extensive, rarely causes gastric outlet obstruction. Classically “crosses the pylorus,”.
Looks like big, little, ulcerative, polypoid or look like target lesions. Can also look like Linitus Plastica. Can rupture with treatment.
What is Linitis Plastica?
Leather bottle stomach.
Scirrhous adenocarcinoma with diffuse infiltration.
Breast or lung mets.
What is Menetrier’s Disease?
Idiopathic gastropathy. Rugal thickening involves the fundus and spares the antrum.
End up with low albumin from loss into gastric lumen.
What is Ram’s Horn Deformity?
Pseudo Billroth 1: Tapering of the antrum, said to look like a Ram’s horn.
Differential case: scarring via peptic ulcers, granulomatous disease (Crohn’s, sarcoid, TB, syphillis), or scirrhous carcinoma.
Stomach is the MC location for sarcoid in the GI tract.
What is Areae Gastricae?
Normal fine reticular pattern seen on double contrast
Enlarges in elderly and patient’s with H. pylori.
Can focally enlarge next to an ulcer.
Becomes obliterated by cancer or atrophic gastritis.
What does chronic ASA therapy look like?
“Multiple gastric ulcers” - buzzword
ASA does NOT cause duodenal ulcers. If multiple duodenal ulcers think Z-E (most duodenal ulcers are solitary).
What is the Target Sign and what causes single vs multiple?
Single Target: GIST, Primary Adenocarcinoma, Lymphoma, Ectopic pancreatic rest, Met (Melanoma)
Multiple: Lymphoma, Met (Melanoma)
What is Clover Leaf Sign?
Healed peptic ulcer of the duodenal bulb
DDx of thin folds with dilation?
Mechanical obstruction
Paralytic ileus
Scleroderma
Sprue
DDx for segmental thick folds >3 mm?
Ischemia
Radiation
Hemorrhage
Adjacent Inflammation
DDx for diffuse thick folds >3 mm?
Low protein
Venous congestion
Cirrhosis
DDx for segmental thick folds with nodularity?
Crohns
Infection
Lymphoma
Mets
Uniform 2-4 mm nodules = lymphoid hyperplasia
Nodules of larger or varying sizes = cancer (probably mets and therefore probably melanoma)
DDx for diffuse thick folds with nodularity?
Whipples Lymphoid hyperplasia Lymphoma Mets Intestinal Lymphangiectasia
Uniform 2-4 mm nodules = lymphoid hyperplasia
Nodules of larger or varying sizes = cancer (probably mets and therefore probably melanoma)
Causes of loop separation with or without tethering?
Without tethering = ascites, wall thickening (Crohns, lymphoma), adenopathy, or mesenteric tumors
With Tethering = carcinoid
Extrinsic process will spare the mucosa, intrinsic process will alter the mucosa.
What is Whipples?
Tropheryma Whipplei - White men in their 50s.
Bug infiltrates the lamina propria with large macrophages infected by intracellular whipple bacilli leading to marked swelling of intestinal villi and thickened irregular mucosal folds primarily in duodenum and proximal jejunum.
Buzzword - “sand-like nodules” referring to micronodules in the jejunum - thickened jejunal folds.
Cause of low density (near fat) enlarged lymph nodes
What is Pseudo Whipples?
MAI infection. AIDS patients with CD4 <100. Nodules in jejunum just like regular Whipples is the finding. Plus big spleen and retroperitoneal lymph nodes.
What is Celiac Sprue?
Small bowel malabsorption of gluten
Can cause malabsorption of iron, and lead to iron deficiency anemia.
Associated with idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (Lane Hamilton Syndrome)
Increased risk of bowel wall lymphoma
Gold standard is biopsy
Dermatitis Herpetiformis
Fold reversal - Jejunum like ileum, ileum like jejunum.
Moulage Sign - dilated bowel with effaced folds (tube with wax poured in it)
Cavitary lymph nodes (low density)
Splenic atrophy
Findings of Celiac Sprue?
Fold reversal - Jejunum like ileum, ileum like jejunum.
Moulage Sign - dilated bowel with effaced folds (tube with wax poured in it)
Cavitary lymph nodes (low density)
Splenic atrophy
Buzzword for graft vs host disease?
Ribbon Bowel
Patients after bone marrow transplant. Skin, liver and GI tract get hit. Small bowel is usually the most severely affected. Bowel is featureless, atrophic, and has fold thickening (ribbon like)
Infections that like the duodenum and proximal small bowel vs infections that like the TI?
Duodenum and proximal small bowel: Giardia and Strongyloides
TI: TB and Yersinia
Barium Bowel Buzzwords
Fold Reversal = Celiac Sprue Ribbon Bowel = GVH Lead Pipe = UC String Sign = Crohns Hide Bound = Scleroderma Cone Shaped Cecum = Amebiasis
What is intestinal lymphoma?
NHL.
Patients with celiac, Crohns, AIDS, and SLE are higher risk.
Can look like anything - NOT obstruct, even with massive circumferential involvement.
Hodgkin subtype is more likely to cause a desmoplastic reaction.
What is a lumbar hernia?
Superior (Grynfeltt-Lesshaft) - through the superior lumbar triangle, or inferior (Petit) through the inferior lumbar triangle.
Superior is more common than inferior.
Congenital or acquired
What is a Spigelian Hernia?
Located along the semilunar line through the transversus abdominus aponeurosis close to the level of the arcuate line.