下痢を主訴とした病因不明の大腸病変

Long-standing Diarrhea and Mucous Discharge of Unknown Cause, Report of a Case

　潰瘍性大腸炎，クローン病，単純潰瘍などの非特異性炎症性腸疾患をはじめとして，大腸疾患の中には病因や病態が十分に解明されていない疾患が少なくない．最近，われわれは激しい下痢を主訴とする女性の大腸病変で，臨床的ならびに病理学的にも，従来記載されてきた疾患概念とは異なると思われる所見を呈した1例を経験したので報告する．

　A 50-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of diarrhea and a large amount of mucous discharge. Barium enema study revealed abnormal findings from the upper rectum to descending colon; irregular filling defects resembling submucosal tumor, remarkable spasm and narrowing of the intestinal lumen. Endoscopically mucosal appearance of the lesion was somewhat edematous but no erosions or ulcers were observed. Histological findings of the resected colon showed sporadic cystic glands, slight increase in the goblet cells, slight inflammatory cell infiltration, fibrosis and edema in the submucosa, and hypertrophy of the muscle layer. These were quite different from those of the colon diseases of which clinical entities have been already established.

　What is this case? The cause of this case was not elucidated. Its clinical and pathological findings were interesting. It is required to collect and document further additional cases, which give a clue to solving the pathogenesis of the disease.