Topographic anatomy of the ascending and descending colons of children and adolescents according to intravital imaging

The aim of the study was to establish the age and sex patterns of the topography of the ascending and descending colons of children and adolescents according to intravital imaging data. Material and methods. Computed tomograms of the abdomen of 88 children and adolescents without visible abdominal organs pathology were analyzed. The surveyedwere divided into 4 age groups: periods of early, first and second childhood, adolescence. The study was performed on 16-slice computed tomographs with the determination of the distances from the ascending and descending colon to the surface of the body, neighboring organs and anatomical structures of the abdomen, skeletotopia. The data obtained were subjected to variation-statistical processing with the determination of the median, the values of the 25^th and 75^th percentiles and the significance of differences according to the Mann – Whitney U test. Results and discussion. The article presents the topographic and anatomical characteristics of the ascending and descending colons of children and adolescents and establishes the patterns of change, taking into account the sex and age of the examined. Conclusions. A significant increase in the distance from the ascending colon to the right ureter, jejunum and ileum, and quadratus lumborum was determined. The distance from the body surface to the ascending colon increased with age along all the studied lines. The proximal part of the ascending colon among all those examined was mostly defined from the intervertebral disc L_IV–L_V to the intervertebral disc L_V–S_I, and the hepatic flexure of the colon was defined at the level from L_I to the intervertebral disc L_II–L_III. A significant increase in the distance from the descending colon to the left ureter, pancreas and quadratus lumborum was found. The distance from the body surface to the descending colon increased with age along the anterior median, left middle axillary, and left scapular lines. The splenic flexure of the colon was located at the level from L_I to the intervertebral disc L_I–L_II, and the distal part of the descending colon was located at the level from L_IV to the intervertebral disc L_IV–L_V.

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