The blood-supply to the sigmoid colon and rectum with reference to the technique of rectal resection with restoration of continuity

✍ Scribed by J. C. Goligher

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1949
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 846 KB
• Volume: 37
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0007-1323
• DOI: 10.1002/bjs.18003714604

✦ Synopsis

IN the performance of sphincter-saving resections of the rectum with restoration of continuity-operations which are now undergoing further trial in the treatment of rectal and rectosigmoid cancer-a major concern of the surgeon is to secure an adequate blood-supply to the portions of colon and rectum remaining for anastomosis. I n this connexion an accurate knowledge of the anatomy and functional capabilities of the vessels supplying the distal colon and rectum is essential. Much has already been written on the subject by Sudeck (1908), Archibald (1908), Drummond (1914), Pope and Judd (1929), Steward and Rankin (1933), Sunderland (1942), and Bacon and Smith (1948), but in the writer's opinion there is still need for greater clarity on certain points, in particular the feasibility of combining really high ligation of the inferior mesenteric vessels with subsequent re-establishment of intestinal continuity. I n this paper the anatomy of the arterial supply to the sigmoid colon and rectum has been re-investigated, with special reference to this question, in cadavers and in patients at operation.