Congenital Aganglionic Megacolon in Adults

Abstract

Congenital megacolon is a disease of infancy and childhood due to a reduction or total absence of parasympathetic ganglia in a segment of colon. More rarely the entire colon and part of the small intestine may be involved. During the past 25 years occasionally a report of an adult case has appeared in the literature; however, rarely is it possible to find a well-documented and histologically proven case of colonic aganglionosis in a person of middle age or beyond. The reports by Grimson,⁹Penick,¹⁶and Romani²⁰occurred prior to widespread recognition of microscopic findings which are positive in establishing an accurate diagnosis of this disease. Rosin²¹et al. (1950), in reporting the disease in a 54-year-old man, were the first to present the histologic findings in an adult. The following case is presented because of the age of the patient and because of the unusual pathological