Hirschsprung’s Disease
Current as of: December 12, 2018
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:John Pope, MD, MPH – Pediatrics & Kathleen Romito, MD – Family Medicine & Brad W. Warner, MD – Pediatric Surgery, Critical Care Medicine
In Hirschsprung’s disease, certain nerve cells (ganglion cells) in a portion of the colon are missing. Because the muscles in that area can’t relax, the muscle contractions that normally push food and digestive waste through that part of the colon can’t occur. The picture on the right shows a colon in which the rectum…