We analyzed pit patterns of colorectal tumors with magnifying colonoscopy, focusing on the relationship between the VI pattern sub-classification and the depth of tumor invasion. The VI pattern was divided into the well-demarcated and poorly demarcated subtypes. The percentage of tumors with a depth of invasion of over 1,000 microm was in the order of non-V types (type I-IV) < type VI < type VN...

Gastrointestinal leiomyomas are smooth muscle tumors arising from the muscularis mucosae, muscularis propriae and possibly from smooth muscle of the vessel wall. Management depends on the size, location and the clinical scenario. Endoscopic snare cauterization with or without saline lift has been described in literature for tumors involving the left colon. To the best of our knowledge, endoscop...

Jejunal biopsy specimens from nine Spanish children with gluten-sensitive enteropathy were studied with morphometric and immunohistochemical techniques in three stages of the diseases: the first biopsy was taken for diagnosis, when the child had a gluten-containing diet, the second after gluten withdrawal, and the third biopsy after gluten-provocation. The findings were compared with those in 1...

AIM To test the validity of tumour thickness measurement in distinguishing between the different infiltration depths, especially when the duplication of muscularis mucosae cannot be demarcated clearly. METHODS We re-evaluated 100 completely embedded Barrett's adenocarcinomas regarding m-classification, maximum tumour thickness, and muscularis mucosae duplication. For validation, smoothelin st...

In the normal colonic mucosa, lymphatics are found only in a narrow band associated with the muscularis mucosae and are absent from the rest of the mucosa. This study examined whether this arrangement of lymphatics is also valid in ulcerative colitis. Histological sections of colon from 15 long-standing cases were investigated with antibodies against CD 34 (negative for lymphatics; positive for...

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation finally leading to extensive tissue fibrosis and resulting in a stiff colon unable to carry out peristalsis or to resorb fluids. Telocytes, a peculiar type of stromal cells, have been recently identified in the human gastrointestinal tract. Several roles have been proposed for telocytes, including mechanical s...