[Isolated ulcer of the small intestine. Abnormal structures in the intestinal wall]

Four years after abdominal trauma, an intestinal loop was resected in a 19-year-old male due to persistent abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, and the suspicion of tumor. A typical ischemic ulcer was found. The resected loop showed, moreover, two peculiar histological features which, to the best of our knowledge, have not been described in the literature: 1. smooth muscle sleeves surrounding intraparietal arteries; 2. entero-mesenteric smooth muscle bands. It is suggested that these muscular structures could, when contracted, provoke arterial stenoses and contribute to the formation of the ulcer.