Diverticulum

Diverticulum
Classification and external resources
MeSH D004240

A diverticulum (plural: diverticula) is medical or biological term for an outpouching of a hollow (or a fluid-filled) structure in the body. Depending upon which layers of the structure are involved, they are described as being either true or false.

In medicine, the term usually implies the structure is not normally present, i.e., pathological. However, in the embryonic stage, some normal structures begin development as a diverticulum arising from another structure.

An alphabetical listing of some frequently encountered diverticula follows:

Contents

Anatomical

Classification

Diverticula are described as being true or false depending upon the layers involved.

True diverticula involve all layers of the structure, including muscularis propria and adventitia.

False diverticula do not involve muscular layers or adventitia. False diverticula, in the GI tract for instance, involve only the submucosa and mucosa.

Pathological

Most of these pathological types of diverticulum are capable of harboring an enterolith. If the enterolith stays in place, it may cause no problems, but a large enterlith expelled from a diverticulum into the lumen can cause obstruction (see Enterolith).

Embryological

Footnotes

  1. ^ Vazquez-Jimenez, Dr. Jaime (2003). "Cardiac diverticulum". Orphanet Encyclopedia. http://www.orpha.net/data/patho/Pro/en/CardiacDiverticulum-FRenPro3437.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-14. 
  2. ^ Velanovich, V. (1994). "Gastric diverticulum". Surgical Endoscopy 8 (11): 1338–1339. doi:10.1007/BF00188296. PMID 7831610.  edit