Etiopathology 1 (Hirschsprung´s Disease)

obst_1a_n.jpg and obst_1b_n.jpg: Histological preparation of the colonic wall with focus on the transition zone between the two muscle layers, and lactatedehydrogenase staining for the identification of the ganglion cells. obst_1a_n.jpg: Normal colonic wall with dark stained ganglion cells of the myenteric plexus. It is a normally innervated part of the colon. obst_1b_n.jpg: Pathological colon with a smaller magnification than in figure obst_1a_n.jpg. There are no ganglion cells at the site of the myenteric plexus. It is an aganglionic part of the intestine typically for Hirschsprung's disease. Deep biopsies are necessary for this examinations which can only be obtained by surgery, e.g. from a rectal approach, or laparoscopically, or by laparotomy.