Postgraduate medicine
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Colonic diverticula result from herniation of the mucosa through weak spots in the muscular wall. Clinically manifested diverticulitis has been thought to have its pathologic basis in an abscessed diverticulum obstructed by a fecalith, but studies of resected sigmoids have failed to produce evidence to support this view. Instead, the outstanding lesion was found to be a perforation in the fundus of a diverticulum, with surrounding peridiverticular or pericolic inflammation. ⋯ Diverticula without muscle thickening are usually asymptomatic, and the condition is referred to as diverticulosis or simple massed diverticulosis. It is uncertain whether the two types have a similar pathogenesis. High intrasigmoid pressures, abnormalities of sigmoid musculature, low-fiber diet, and psychologic stress are thought to be important factors in the formation of diverticula.
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In a case of rheumatic disease, the patient's history and a careful physical examination should yield most of the information needed to identify the specific disorder present. A convenient classification is based on four differentiating features: number of joints affected, acuteness or chronicity of disease, absence of joint involvement, and anatomic distribution.