[Properties of the rectosigmoid mucosa--histopathological studies on the autopsied colorectum]

Twenty cases of the entire course of the large intestine were obtained from autopsy materials within four hours after death and examined histologically. The autolytic changes were found to be minimal and the mucosal architecture was fairly well preserved in our studies. The morphometric analysis showed that the glandular lengths in the rectosigmoid colon were greater than those of the other parts of the large intestine. Cystic dilatations of the glands were most frequently observed in the distal colon, and tended to occur in the vicinity of neoplastic changes. These results indicate that the hyperplastic changes of the glands, occasionally with cystic dilatations, are important as the background for the development of neoplastic diseases in the large intestine.