Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis Associated with Abdominal Carcinomatosis.

PNEUMATOSIS CYSTOIDES intestinalis is a rare condition in which gas-containing cysts arise in the intestinal wall and elsewhere within the abdominal cavity. The cysts vary in size from a millimetre to several centimetres in diameter and may occur in large numbers. In most cases the cysts are subserous but occasionally they arise in the submucous layer of the intestine. The pneumatosis is most often found in the small intestine and this may be the only area affected, but caecum, colon, parietal peritoneum, mesentery, omentum and lymph nodes are sometimes involved. In over 50% of cases there is a peptic ulcer present, usually with some degree of stenosis, but the condition has also been described in association with tuberculous enteritis, carcinoma of stomach, appendicitis, intestinal obstruction, enteritis, colitis, peritonitis, intestinal parasites, and even following Caesarian section. In some cases the disease appears to be idiopathic. In this patient the pneumatosis was associated with microscopic, and later macroscopic, infiltration of the intestine with neoplastic tissue.