Normal and Abnormal Small Bowel Lengths

Reiquam, C. W.; Allen, Richard P.; Akers, David R.

doi:10.1001/archpedi.1965.02090020449013

Cited by 56 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This study confirms previous observa tions; i.e., fetal small intestinal length in creases with gestation and is related to skeletal growth [7][8][9][10][11][12], The study also extends pre vious observations, i.e., new data for total and large intestinal length and more complete data for small intestinal length, so that refer ence data are provided to estimate intestinal length in the human fetus. Accurate determination of intestinal length is important in the clinical setting.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Previous studies are largely confined to small intestinal length [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] with few examining large intes tinal length [11,13], The study populations were also not well defined and the effects of IUGR were not examined. Little data are available for infants weighing < 1,500 g, and from those reports it is not possible to con struct complete fetal growth curves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Intrauterine Growth on Intestinal Length in the Human Fetus

Shanklin¹,

Cooke²

1993

Neonatology

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Standards for human fetal intestinal length are not well established but have important implications for the care of the preterm and intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) infant. Our purpose was to examine the relationship between intrauterine growth and intestinal length in the human fetus. One hundred infants were studied. Birth weight and gestational age ranged from 76 to 4,385 g and from 12 to 42 weeks, respectively. Twenty-one infants were noted to be IUGR. Intestinal length (total, small, large) increased (p < 0.0001) with birth weight, gestational age, and crownheel length but was reduced in IUGR infants. The ratio of body weight to intestinal length increased with gestation but was also reduced in IUGR infants. In conclusion, a reduced functional mass, as suggested by decreased intestinal length or body weight:intestinal length ratio, may contribute to the poor weight sometimes seen in the very-low-birth weight or IUGR infant.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Intrauterine Growth on Intestinal Length in the Human Fetus

Shanklin¹,

Cooke²

1993

Neonatology

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“…This unoperated on infant whose body length was 47 cm had a 94-cm small intestine, far less than the normal range encountered in this study and the normal 5:1 ratio found by Reiquam et al 8 This finding was in contrast to that of a 6-year-old patient (body length, 94 cm) with a long¬ standing colostomy for Hirsch¬ sprung's disease of the distal colon. The small-intestine length was 486 cm, slightly more than 1 SD greater than the mean for crown-heel length.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 77%

Small-Intestine Length in Infants and Children

Siebert¹

1980

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

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\s=b\Small-intestine length from ligament of Treitz to ileocecal valve was measured in 183 infants and children ranging up to 15 years of age. Elongation of the intestine was rapid until crown-heel length was 60 cm and remained constant from 100 to 140 cm of body length. When patients were placed into three general diagnostic categories (congenital heart disease, abdominal lesions, and miscellaneous) no significant differences were found. However, several striking instances of abnormally long or short small intestines were encountered.(Am J Dis Child 134: [593][594][595] 1980) The importance of the length of the small intestine has been recog¬ nized by surgeons preparing for resec¬ tions,1-7 by radiologists trying to pin¬ point lesions in the intestinal tract,8 and by pathologists desiring to assess the functional status of the digestive system at autopsy.·1·7 However, com¬ prehensive studies of intestinal length in children, and for that matter adults, are relatively scarce. 98105 (Mr Siebert). Such investigations, using different approaches, have produced variable data.1·5·6·8'12 Some reports have given arbitrary statements of normal intes¬ tinal lengths while omitting the method by which such data were obtained.1·2·5The most comprehensive portmortem study published to date8 ex¬ pressed intestinal length as a ratio of body length. Patient age or weight did not correlate with intestinal length. An association between abnormally long small intestines and congenital heart disease was suggested. In that study, the method of measuring the small intestine was not specified, and it was not stated whether the duode¬ num was included in the measure¬ ments.The present study was based on a simple method for measuring length of the jejunum and ileum, avoiding stretch artifact. The relationship be¬ tween small-intestine length and con¬ genital heart disease was investi¬ gated, as was the possible effect of other diseases on small-intestine length. METHODS Data were collected from an autopsy population of 183 cases from 1972 to 1974. Ages ranged from prematurity (30 weeks' gestation) to 15 years.At autopsy, the abdominal cavity was gently investigated. A ligature was placed around the small intestine at the duodenaljejunal suspensory ligament (of Treitz) to mark the beginning of the jejunum. In infants and small children, all thoracoabdominal organs were kept intact during en bloc evisceration. In larger children, the gut was removed after ligating and divid¬ ing the jejunum at the ligament of Treitz, and the small bowel was removed by cut¬ ting across the mesenteric root from cecum to duodenum. Either method left the mesentery intact with jejunum and ileum, ensuring that the small intestine was not stretched.After evisceration, most of the mesen¬ tery was removed by cutting it along the terminal arcade of the mesenteric vascula¬ ture. By leaving this portion of mesentery intact with the small intestine, stretching of the gut was prevented. Agonal intussus¬ ceptions were reduced before the bowel was measured. A 3-m length...

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“…It should also be taken into account that as the infant grows, the length of the intestine also increases. There are many reports on the length of the human intestine (Hirsch et al 1955;Underhill 1955;Sotoyama 1958;Reiquam et al 1961) but the lengths differ according to the method of measurement employed. The measured length is the shortest when a Miller Abbott tube is used in vivo (Hirsch et al 1955), while the lengths measured at autopsy (Underhill 1955;Sotoyama 1958;Reiquam et al 1961) tend to be long.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of a neonate, Benson (1958) reported it was 248 cm on average and Reiquam and co-workers (1961) reported it was about 300 cm. As body length increases, the intestine length also increases ; in the case of adults, it is as long as about 6 m (Underhill 1955; Reiquam et al 1961). When measured in vivo, it is short, being about 3 m (Hirsch 1955).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%