Which anatomical event occurs in intussusception?

Which anatomical event occurs in intussusception?

• A. Ileum telescopes into cecum
• B. Cecum telescopes into ileum
• C. Stomach into esophagus
• D. Appendix into colon

Answer: (A)

Intussusception involves a proximal segment of bowel slipping into the immediately distal segment, creating a telescoping effect. The classic and most common scenario is the ileum sliding into the cecum at the ileocecal junction, with the proximal part invaginating into the distal part. This inward movement can pull in the mesentery, obstructing flow and potentially compromising blood supply, which explains the abrupt, episodic abdominal pain and, in many cases, currant jelly stools and a sausage-shaped abdominal mass. Other options describe movements that aren’t the typical inward telescoping of one bowel segment into the next. Stomach into esophagus is a different type of problem (not intussusception), a reverse or retrograde invagination of the cecum into the ileum is far less common, and appendix into colon refers to a separate, less typical scenario rather than the classic ileocecal intussusception.

Intussusception involves a proximal segment of bowel slipping into the immediately distal segment, creating a telescoping effect. The classic and most common scenario is the ileum sliding into the cecum at the ileocecal junction, with the proximal part invaginating into the distal part. This inward movement can pull in the mesentery, obstructing flow and potentially compromising blood supply, which explains the abrupt, episodic abdominal pain and, in many cases, currant jelly stools and a sausage-shaped abdominal mass.

Other options describe movements that aren’t the typical inward telescoping of one bowel segment into the next. Stomach into esophagus is a different type of problem (not intussusception), a reverse or retrograde invagination of the cecum into the ileum is far less common, and appendix into colon refers to a separate, less typical scenario rather than the classic ileocecal intussusception.