File:Meckel's diverticulum 02.jpg

Meckel's Diverticulum

Meckel's diverticulum is the remain of the prenatal yolkstalk (Vitellointestinal duct). The yolk sac of the developing embryo is connected to the primitive gut by the yolk stalk or vitelline (i.e. omphalomesenteric) duct. This structure normally regresses between the fifth and seventh weeks of fetal life. If this process of regression fails, various anomalies can occur. The spectrum of defects includes a Meckel diverticulum, a fibrous cord attaching the distal ileum to the abdominal wall, an umbilical-intestinal fistula, a mucosa-lined cyst, or an umbilical sinus. Of these, Meckel's diverticulum is the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract in humans occurring in approximately 2% of the population with equal incidence in males and females [2].

Original file name: 1749-7922-3-27-1.jpg http://www.wjes.org/content/3/1/27/figure/F1

Reference

<pubmed>18700974</pubmed>| World J Emerg Surg.

© 2008 Sharma and Jain; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.