Histo-morphological study of a giant Meckel's diverticulum with gastric type of mucosa

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Meckel's diverticulum or ileal diverticulum is one of the common congenital anomalies of the digestive system. It may not cause any problems in many, but may form serious life threatening complications in a few. Materials and Methods: We conducted a histo-morphological study of a giant Meckel's diverticulum found during cadaveric dissections of a South Indian adult male cadaver. The diverticulum was 7.5 cm long and had a circumference of 1.5 cm. Results: Gross anatomical and histological observations revealed healthy nature of the diverticulum without any inflammation. However, the mucosa had gastric type of glands with plenty of parietal cells. This incidence of Meckel's diverticulum was noted in only one cadaver among more than 100 cadavers dissected in the past twenty years. Conclusion: Knowledge of its morphological features may be very useful to surgeons, radiologists and gastroenterologists. We discuss the clinical importance of the diverticulum and review the relevant literature in this manuscript.