INTUSSUSCEPTION (from Lat. intus, with in + .3i/sceptic), a taking up, from suscipere, to take up, from sub, under + caperc, to take), or INVAGINATION OF TILE INTESTINES. A displace ment of a portion of the intestine into the part immediately below, just as the finger of a glove may he partly drawn within itself when the hand is withdrawn. This is a common form of intestinal obstruction occurring most frequently in infants and young children. The exciting cause is usually some irritant bringing about irregular and exaggerated intestinal peristalsis. Injudicious diet, the careless use of cathartics, and the presence of intestinal polyps are the common causative factors. The pathological con ditions present. arc: the invagination mentioned above, and more or less inflammation in affected part of the intestine. The commonest site of the lesion is at the junction of the small and the large intestines. The involved portion of the intestine may measure anywhere from a few inches to as many feet. Unless promptly treated death usually results in a short time front gangrene of the intestine. perforation. and gen
eral peritonitis. In adults the invaginated por tion of the intestine may become gangrenous. separated, and passed per rectum. Such a ter mination is frequently followed by the forum lion of a contracting sear, resulting in a chronic form of obstruction. The symptoms are: Violent abdominal pain. rather sudden in its onset ; von: Ring of stomach contents and of biliary and ficeal matter; abdominal distention; the passage of blooly mucous per rectum; collapse; normal or subnormal temperature. Palpation reveals the presence of a tumor; by rectal examination the invaginated gut may lie felt with the finger. or it may even protrude through the anal orifice. The treatment is purely surgical, and should he prompt. A laparotomy is performed and the in testinal displacement corrected. The prognosis is not at all bad in cases operated on early. In neglected eases the disease is almost invariably fatal.