Pneumatosis intestinalis: spontaneous clinical and radiological resolution.

THE AETIOLOGY of pneumatosis intestinalis in most cases is either unknown or open to discussion. Advice and treatment is often a problem. The following case is reported as an example of the group in which recovery was spontaneous. The condition was first described by Du Vernoi in 1738 and much has been written on the subject since then. The various terms that have been used in the past to describe this condition include, intestinal emphysema, gas cysts of intestine, pseudocystic disease of intestine, pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis, cystoides intestinorum hominis and peritoneal pneumatosis. The condition may occur in any part of the bowel from the stomach to the rectum and may also occur in the mesentery. The collection of air may be linear or more commonly in the shape of cysts. This latter appearance is the explanation for the use of the word 'cystoides' in naming the condition.