Defecography in normal volunteers: results and implications.

TLDR

Radiologic findings in defecography raise questions about the functioning of continence and defecation mechanisms. Forty‑seven healthy young volunteers underwent defecographic examination to establish the normal range of findings. Normal volunteers displayed a wide spectrum of anorectal angles and pelvic floor descent, frequent rectocoeles in women, and marginal anorectal function, indicating that features often deemed pathological can be common and may predispose to or worsen clinical problems when combined with other factors.

Abstract

Forty seven healthy young volunteers underwent defecographic examination to determine the range of normal findings. Normality was shown to encompass radiological features often considered pathological. These features included broad ranges of anorectal angle and pelvic floor descent which overlap with reported pathological states. Furthermore, the formation of rectocoeles during defecation was a very common finding in women. Finally, a subgroup of the volunteers had marginal anorectal function. The marginal anorectal function and certain radiological findings such as rectocoeles or intussusceptions may predispose to later problems, or contribute to clinical problems when combined with other factors such as dietary fibre deficiency. The radiological findings raise a number of questions with respect to different aspects of the functioning of the continence and defecation mechanisms.