Changing Emphasis in Diverticular Disease of the Colon

Abstract

1. A small number of surgical and post-mortem specimens of diverticular disease of the colon have been examined in an initial attempt to correlate some of the radiological signs with the naked eye morbid anatomy. 2. Attention has been drawn to the fasciculated structure of the muscle wall, the relationship of this structure to the shape of diverticula and the ability of a barium enema to fill these sacs. 3. The influence of the distribution of diverticula in the sigmoid colon on the radiographic appearances has been studied. 4. It has been shown that some of the classical radiological signs of diverticulitis cannot be explained in terms of the mechanical effects of inflammation, but can be understood by assuming a primary fault in muscular action which is not directly related to either diverticula or inflammation. 5. The contribution that radiology makes to the problem of pathogenesis of diverticular disease has been discussed in a speculative fashion.