Megacolon overview
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Megacolon Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Megacolon overview On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Megacolon overview |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Megacolon is an abnormal dilatation of the colon (a part of the large intestines) that is not caused by mechanical obstruction. The dilatation is often accompanied by a paralysis of the peristaltic movements of the bowel, resulting in chronic constipation. In more extreme cases, the feces consolidate into hard masses inside the colon, called fecalomas (literally, fecal tumor), which require surgery to be removed.
A human colon is considered abnormally enlarged if it has a diameter greater than 12 cm in the cecum, greater than 6.5 cm in the rectosigmoid region and greater than 8 cm for the ascending colon [2]
A megacolon can be either acute or chronic. It can also be classified according to etiology.