Abstract
A 73-year-old man, who had no particular history, was admitted to the hospital because of melena. The appetite was fair and bowel movements were good. No tumor was palpable by a digital examination. Colonoscopy revealed a rectal ulcer with bleeding which located at the middle portion of the rectum. The biopsied specimen showed no malignant lesion, but conservative treatment was unsuccessful. Partial resection of the rectum was performed under a diagnosis of hemorrhagic rectal ulcer. Pathological findings of the resected specimen revealed ulcer with irregular margin, 2×2cm in size, reached to the muscle layer in depth (U1-III). Infiltration of inflammatory cells and granulation tissue were histologically noted. No specific findings suggestive of inflammatory bowel disease nor Behcet disease were noted. Therefore non-specific rectal ulcer was diagnosed. Moreover, endoscopic findings of ulcer in this particular case were not comparable to those of ulcer seen in the patients with acute hemorrhagic rectal ulcer, stercoral ulcer, or rectal mucosal prolapse syndrome. No causes of this ulcer could be determined.
