PNEUMATOSIS CYSTOIDES INTESTINALIS INVOLVING THE LEFT SIDE OF THE COLON.

Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis involving the left side of the colon has been infrequently described. The condition was recognized 234 years ago when it was discovered in a cadaver. It was not until 1946, however, that a description of this lesion appeared in the radiological literature of North America. Pathologically, it is characterized by the presence of subserosal or submucosal cysts, varying from one millimetre to several centimetres in diameter. The complications of this process are pneumoperitoneum and intestinal obstruction. Three patients are described, the first of whom had partial bowel obstruction. Radiolucent gas-filled cysts along the bowel wall were observed on the radiographs. An additional radiological sign noted by the authors was fixation and elongation of the sigmoid colon with loss of pliability of the bowel wall which persisted on the evacuation film.