Description
The specimen is a short length of jejunum, cut to display an abscess in the mesenteric fat. The
abscess is based on a diverticulum, which is not clearly apparent in the specimen, but which,
presumably, opens into the mucosa at the base of the abscess on the left-hand side of the specimen.
History
This patient was admitted with dull, epigastric pain, worse on movement; the pain
radiated to the left side of the back and around the costal margin. On examination, the abdomen
was rigid, with general tenderness, and bowel sounds were absent. At laparotomy, a 2 cm. jejunal
diverticulum was found 20 cm. from the duodeno-jejunal flexure on the mesenteric border. A
Meckel's diverticulum was also discovered.