The solitary ulcer syndrome of the rectum: radiological features

Abstract

The solitary ulcer syndrome of the rectum is a well defined pathological entity. The name was coined by Lloyd Davies at St. Mark's Hospital, London, during the 1930s. The condition was first described by Cruveilhier (1870) as a chronic ulcer of the rectum. Allen (1966) called it a hamartomatous polyp of the rectum and others have called it colitis cystica profunda (Epstein et al., 1966; Wayte and Helwig, 1967). Madigan and Morson (1969) reviewed 68 cases that had been collected at St. Mark's Hospital and the subject has been recently reviewed by Rutter and Riddell (1975). Despite its pathological and clinical recognition, however, the condition appears to be largely unknown to radiologists, with no reports in the radiological literature. The following case report shows, however, that it is of radiological significance.