Prolapse of the Rectum.

PROLAPSE of the rectum is a rare, somewhat misunderstood and neglected condition, which is generally held to occur at the extremes of life. XVe are almost totally ignorant of its cause. Misconceptions regarding its clinical presentation are common. Its management is confused for the average surgeon-who sees relatively few of these cases-by the availability for its treatment of a multitude of methods, the merits of which are hotly disputed by experts. Finally its prognosis, when it afflicts adults, is often considered to be very poor even with treatment, a state of affairs that is accepted with some measure of complacency because of the frequent belief that the sufferers are usually nearing the end of their life-span and are often of enfeebled mentality so as to require institutional care. It is hoped in this short article to correct some of these faulty impressions and to give an account of the achievements of modern surgical treatment. The disease will be separately considered as it is met with in adult life and in childhood.