Rupture of A Submucosal Artery of the Small Intestine

Two Case Reports

Abstract

Two case histories of patients with massive intestinal bleeding resulting from a ruptured submucosal artery of the small intestine are presented. The onset in both cases was acute, with massive rectal bleeding and shock. The bleeding lesion in both cases was jejunum and in one case emergency angiography was very useful in identifying the bleeding site. Histologically, the vascular lesion in each case consisted of a wide caliber artery lying in the submucosal layer. This entity was similar to “exulceratio simplex” of the stomach, described by Dieulafoy in 1898. The prognosis was very good.