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Sonographic Features of Mesenteric Gas

Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, Coimbatore, India.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to S. Boopathy Vijayaraghavan, MD, DMRD, 16 B Venkatachalam Rd, R. S. Puram, Coimbatore 641 002, India. E-mail: sonoscan{at}vsnl.com and sboopathy{at}eth.net.

Objective. To describe the sonographic appearance of air in the mesentery of the small bowel. Methods. Sonography was performed with convex and linear array transducers in 2 patients with acute abdomen. Results. In 1 patient, sonography revealed fluid and air in the peritoneal cavity. A thick-walled small-bowel loop with a thick echogenic mesentery was seen. Air was seen in the mesentery as linear bright echoes with acoustic shadowing. An uncomplicated diverticulum was seen. In the second patient, air was seen in the thick and echogenic mesentery of a thick-walled small bowel. An inflamed diverticulum was also seen. Conclusions. Sonographic features of mesenteric air due to perforated diverticulitis of the jejunum are described.

Key Words: jejunal diverticulitis • mesenteric gas • sonography