Chapter 7 - The Pressures in the Human Colon in Health and in Diverticulosis

Abstract

This chapter discusses about the pressures in the human colon in health and in diverticulosis. It also discusses resting pressure patterns in the normal sigmoid colon. In one of the studies described in the chapter, the patterns of pressure in the normal subjects and in patients with diverticulosis were compared. Normal subjects had no history of bowel dysfunction and their barium studies were normal. They were on average younger than those with diverticulosis and might well develop diverticulosis in later life. The chapter also discusses resting pressure patterns in the sigmoid colon in diverticulosis. The size, shape, irregular occurrence, and lack of any temporal relationship between a wave at one level of the sigmoid and waves at adjoining levels, which have been found in the normal colon, are also seen in diverticulosis. The chapter also presents the quantitative aspects of pressure waves in sigmoid colon in health and in diverticulosis.