Clinical Case

While doing your housemanship in a rural hospital, you are consulted by a concerned mother. Her small baby boy has massive abdominal distention and absent bowel movements. On rectal examination, the ampulla is empty of feces and the anal sphincter is normal. Barium enema reveals a narrowed segment in the rectosigmoid, with massive dilatation above. You suspect Hirschsprung's Disease, a congenital disorder due to absence of enteric neurons (ganglions) in the distal colon and rectum, and decide to refer the patient to a paediatric surgeon for a colon biopsy. What type of neuron is present in these ganglia? Are the axons myelinated? What is a ganglion?

Microscopy

A high magnification of a parasympathetic ganglion of the Auerbach plexus in the gastrointestinal tract. This example of a parasympathetic ganglion was taken from the colon. Fig 042-004

Memorandum
Clinical Case	Fig 42-004