Some Morphological Characteristics of a Glandular Apparatus of Human Colon in Total Dolichomegalocolon and Colonoptosis

The aim of the study was to identify the features of the macro- and microscopic structure, as well as the cellular composition of the intestinal glands in adults with clinically confirmed total dolichomegacolon and colonoptosis.

Material and methods. On total preparations of the colon obtained from the corpses of persons 42–87 years old, structural changes of the glandular apparatus were studied in cases with total  dolichomegacolon (n=7) and total colonoptosis (n=5), diagnosed postmortem. Microscopic examination was performed on histological preparations stained with methylene blue, with subsequent fixation in a saturated solution of ammonium molybdenum acid, hematoxylin–eosin, and picrofuxin by Van-Gieson. Parametric and nonparametric statistical methods based on the Statistica 6.0 program were used. Data processing included the calculation of arithmetic averages and their errors.

Results. The analysis of cell composition of the colon epithelium in total dolichomegacolon revealed a progressive decrease in the number of glands in the proximo-distal direction from 22.5±1.1% in the caecum to 37±0.9% in the rectum. Besides, the length of the glands decreased, on average by 26.5±0.8% for all parts of the large intestine without a pronounced gradient from the caecum to the rectum. According to the decrease in length of the intestinal gland, there was a decrease in the number of epithelial cells forming its walls with a maximum in the descending colon – a decrease of 21.4±1.1%. Structural changes in total colonoptosis were similar in nature and did not significantly differ in large values of reduction of the glandular apparatus. Due to analyzing the cellular component of the colon glands, a multidirectional character of changes in the composition of the glands was noted: a decrease in the percentage of absorption cells on average by 21.1±0.8% and an increase in the proportion 
of goblet cells by 33.4±1.2% on average, due to a compensatory increase in the amount of mucus in the studied pathological conditions.

Conclusion. Actual data on the decrease in the number and change in the structure of the glandular apparatus of all parts of the large intestine of adult people against the background of clinically verified total dolichomegacolon and colonoptosis were obtained. The nature of the identified structural and  functional rearrangements is of great importance both for proctological practice and for theoretical and practical medicine in general.

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