The pathogenesis of intestinal atresia.

The records of 28 patients with duodenal and 31 with jejunoileal intestinal atresia or stenosis were studied. Vomiting and abdominal distention were the most prominent symptoms; an unusual colon may be present in jejunal as well as ileal obstruction and is not pathognomonic for ileal obstruction. Intestinal atresia is associated with a high incidence of preterm babies but with a low incidence of intrauterine growth retardation. Fifty-three infants were operated upon; the overall survival rate was 79 per cent. The high percentage of mortality in duodenal obstruction is due to associated malformations. Theories of the pathogenesis of intestinal atresia do not seem to fit current clinical and experimental evidence in all patients. Possibly, different factors play a role in separate situations.