Hirschsprung"s Disease: What You Need To Know About the Gastrointestinal Tract
There are some diseases that are very rare.
At times, these diseases are the ones that we fear the most.
In the different systems of the body, the gastrointestinal system is among the system that experiences different kinds of conditions all year round.
Perhaps, this is common since the gastrointestinal system is vital in our survival and everything we do to feed the body's requirements run through this long tract of mucosa and enzymes.
Thus, when we tend to consume virtually anything in our path; at times our gastrointestinal system suffers the consequences.
One good example of the consequence that the gastrointestinal system suffers from our lifestyle and habit is the condition called Colon cancer.
With the way we eat from the years of enjoying fatty foods and a diet with minimal amount of fiber, irritation and the development of a cancer cell becomes a problem in the later part of life.
But not all conditions in the GI tract are all caused by lifestyle and our day to day habits.
There are some diseases that are inborn.
Among the diseases that are considered rare and congenital is Hirschsprung's disease.
Hirschsprung's disease is a condition where part of the colon fails to conduct peristalsis, failing the bowel to be removed from the body in a regular way.
Peristalsis is the involuntary movement of the intestines and the esophagus to propel the food downward the tract.
The main characteristic of the disease is the so-called ribbon like stools coming from a pediatric's elimination episode.
This kind of condition can be rare.
All over the world, it has been estimated to be around 1 in every 5000 births.
The disease is caused by an aganglionic part in the colon.
Anatomically, the condition is characterized by a proximal bulge in the colon (where the feces is accumulating) and a distal aganglionic area.
This condition can be diagnosed using barium enema to have empirical evidence on how the obstruction looks like.
Another diagnostic procedure is biopsy where the portion thought to be without ganglion cells will be tested for confirmation.
Usually, the anganglionic area would range around 30cm maximum.
Now, how is this repaired? Through surgery, the condition of the colon can be corrected.
The name of the surgery is commonly called as the "push-pull" surgery.
This is when the aganglionic area is going to be removed through while the ganglionic part will then be sutured with the other end where the aganglionic part has been removed.
The gastrointestinal tract is a very vital system for a body to function.
Most of the body requirements are being processed through this long series of mouth to anus system.
With the complexities it present as a culmination of different organs; it also absorbed a great number of diseases.
Though most of the common known diseases known in the field of medicine which pertains to the gastrointestinal system is part and parcel of our lifestyle today; there are also some conditions that are present mainly because of genetic predispositions rather than just caused by lifestyle.
At times, these diseases are the ones that we fear the most.
In the different systems of the body, the gastrointestinal system is among the system that experiences different kinds of conditions all year round.
Perhaps, this is common since the gastrointestinal system is vital in our survival and everything we do to feed the body's requirements run through this long tract of mucosa and enzymes.
Thus, when we tend to consume virtually anything in our path; at times our gastrointestinal system suffers the consequences.
One good example of the consequence that the gastrointestinal system suffers from our lifestyle and habit is the condition called Colon cancer.
With the way we eat from the years of enjoying fatty foods and a diet with minimal amount of fiber, irritation and the development of a cancer cell becomes a problem in the later part of life.
But not all conditions in the GI tract are all caused by lifestyle and our day to day habits.
There are some diseases that are inborn.
Among the diseases that are considered rare and congenital is Hirschsprung's disease.
Hirschsprung's disease is a condition where part of the colon fails to conduct peristalsis, failing the bowel to be removed from the body in a regular way.
Peristalsis is the involuntary movement of the intestines and the esophagus to propel the food downward the tract.
The main characteristic of the disease is the so-called ribbon like stools coming from a pediatric's elimination episode.
This kind of condition can be rare.
All over the world, it has been estimated to be around 1 in every 5000 births.
The disease is caused by an aganglionic part in the colon.
Anatomically, the condition is characterized by a proximal bulge in the colon (where the feces is accumulating) and a distal aganglionic area.
This condition can be diagnosed using barium enema to have empirical evidence on how the obstruction looks like.
Another diagnostic procedure is biopsy where the portion thought to be without ganglion cells will be tested for confirmation.
Usually, the anganglionic area would range around 30cm maximum.
Now, how is this repaired? Through surgery, the condition of the colon can be corrected.
The name of the surgery is commonly called as the "push-pull" surgery.
This is when the aganglionic area is going to be removed through while the ganglionic part will then be sutured with the other end where the aganglionic part has been removed.
The gastrointestinal tract is a very vital system for a body to function.
Most of the body requirements are being processed through this long series of mouth to anus system.
With the complexities it present as a culmination of different organs; it also absorbed a great number of diseases.
Though most of the common known diseases known in the field of medicine which pertains to the gastrointestinal system is part and parcel of our lifestyle today; there are also some conditions that are present mainly because of genetic predispositions rather than just caused by lifestyle.
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