Meckel’s Diverticulum And Its Features

Meckel’s diverticulum is a congenital defect in the intestinal tract. It is caused by a change in embryonic development during the fifth and seventh weeks of pregnancy.

The prevalence of the problem is in the order of 0.3-3%. On average, only 2% of the population has a Meckel diverticulum, but symptoms occur in only about 5-7% of patients. For the most part, therefore, Meckel’s diverticulum is asymptomatic.

The problem was first described by Johann Friedrich Meckel in 1809. It occurs equally in men and women. However, the associated complications are three to four times more common in men. It is diagnosed more often in children than adults.

Meckel’s divert

Meckel’s diverticulum is a small bulge in the small intestine of some people. During embryonic development, the foreskin communicates with the brown sac through a channel known as the vitellin duct.

As the embryo develops, both the brown sac and the colon disappear. However, remnants of the vitellin duct have remained in a small part of the population.

Sometimes Meckel’s diverticulum also has small ducts. It is an omphalomenteric dense, filamentous cord that connects the diverticulum and the navel.

Only in rare cases does a umbilical fistula or a sac of the brown sac appear. The umbilical fistula is a direct connection between the intestine and the navel, causing feces to pass through the navel. The double brown bag is a bulge below the navel.

Outline

Meckel’s diverticulum consists of the same three layers as the small intestine: mucosal tissue, submucosal tissue, and muscle tissue. It is a genuine diverticulum if it has three layers, as fake fistulas have only the first two layers.

It is located on the opposite border of the ileum of the ileum and is usually 5-10 cm long. It can be less than 3 cm in diameter. It usually gets blood from a remnant of the vitellin artery or the upper mesenteric artery.

Fistula usually has remnants of ectopic, colonic, pancreatic, and duodenal mucosa, liver and gallbladder tissue, and also Brunner’s glands. At its end, there is usually also uterine mucosal tissue.

Manifestation

Meckel’s diverticulum can cause complications, usually in the early years of childhood. 60% occur before the age of ten, but symptomatic individuals have a 5-6% risk of complications.

The most common complication is bleeding. It is usually associated with peptic ulcer disease by doctors. It usually occurs at the age of two years and its symptoms are painless stools. Another common complication is abdominal pain.

An estimated 20% of patients develop diverticulitis that cannot be clinically distinguished from appendicitis. Intestinal thrombosis occurs in 40% of cases. 0.5 to 3.2% of patients develop tumors, mostly benign.

Other interesting information

Meckel’s diverticulum is difficult to diagnose because its symptoms resemble many other diseases. Doctors usually require various tests to confirm the diagnosis, such as colonoscopy, abdominal technetium imaging, or small bowel capsule imaging.

If bleeding or intestinal obstruction occurs, surgery may be required to remove the diverticulum. During the operation, the surgeon also removes the surrounding intestinal tissue. This is done in traditional or endoscopic surgery.

Surgery is a very safe treatment for Meckel’s diverticulum and rarely results in complications. Most patients recover completely after surgery and never again suffer from this problem.