Hirschsprung's Disease

Definition: Hirschsprung's Disease

Hirschsprung's Disease

Noun

1. Congenital condition in which the colon does not have the normal network of nerves; there is little urge to defecate so the feces accumulate and cause megacolon.

Specialty Definitions: Hirschsprung's Disease

Domain	Definitions
Health	A birth defect in which some nerve cells are lacking in the large intestine. The intestine cannot move stool through, so the intestine gets blocked. Causes the abdomen to swell. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Specialty Definition: Hirschsprung's disease

Hirschsprung's disease involves an enlargement of the colon, caused by bowel obstruction resulting from an aganglionic section of bowel (the normal enteric nerves are absent) that starts at the anus and progresses upwards. The length of bowel that is affected varies but seldom stretches for more than a foot or so.

This disease is named for Harald Hirschsprung, the Danish physician who first described the disease in 1886.

The disease is congenital, but occasionally symptoms do not appear until early adulthood. In infants, the primary symptom is not passing meconium within the first 24 to 48 hours of life.

Definitive diagnosis is via rectal biopsy. Treatment is always surgical, with resection of the offending area, often with a colostomy performed before a second stage procedure to reanastomose the colon with the anus.

Crosswords: Hirschsprung's Disease

English words defined with "Hirschsprung's disease": megacolon. (references)

Specialty definitions using "Hirschsprung's disease": Atonic Colon. (references)

Commercial Usage: Hirschsprung's Disease

Domain	Title
Books	Color Atlas of Surgery for Hirschsprung's Disease (Single Surgical Procedures Series, Vol 21) (reference) Hirschsprung's Disease (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Non-Fiction Usage: Hirschsprung's Disease

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		It can happen before or after surgery to treat Hirschsprung's disease. (references)
		Infections can be very dangerous for a child with Hirschsprung's disease. (references)
		This test may show intestinal obstruction and Hirschsprung's disease, a lack of nerves within the colon. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.