This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Intestinal obstruction

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Intestinal obstruction may be described variously as:

  • simple - lumen obstructed, blood supply intact
  • strangulated - blood supply occluded
  • closed loop - both limbs of loop are obstructed
  • partial or complete

It may be further classified according to the

  • rate of onset:
    • acute e.g. strangulated hernia
    • acute-on-chronic e.g. adhesional obstruction
    • chronic e.g. Crohn's disease
  • site along the bowel:
    • very high e.g. pyloric stenosis
    • high small bowel e.g. jejunal tumour
    • distal small bowel e.g. gallstone ileus
    • low colon e.g. rectal carcinoma
  • site of pathology in relation to the bowel wall:
    • in lumen
    • in wall
    • outside wall

Large bowel obstruction is principally due to:

  • carcinoma } 90% of
  • diverticulitis } cases
  • volvulus

Small bowel obstruction is mainly due to:

  • incarcerated hernia
  • adhesions

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.