Localized intestinal tuberculosis

Tuberculous intestinal lesions are commonly found inphthisical individuals, and this second r: tie of the disease tends to assume one of two forms - (1) the entero-peritoneal (2) the ulcerative.The entero-peritoneal form results when the disease spreads in depth to invade the outer coats of the gut, and the neighbouring structures: while in the ulcerative type, which is more commonly found in the large intestine, the disease remains restricted to the mucous and submucous coats, which are rapidly but irregularly destroyed over large areas.The Localised Form of Intestinal Tuberculosis occurs in individuals infected with, but resistant to tubercle, and the lesion is commonly situated in the neighbourhood of the ileo-caecal valve.The disease runs a chronic course, and attention may only be drawn to it as it cicatrises end narrows the gut, or serves as a starting, point for acute or chronic infections of its walls.The chronic secondary infection gives rise to the formation of localised, or more rarely diffuse, granulomatous masses which thicken the walls of the gut, and may obstruct its lumen.While tubercle is the common cause of the localised form of hyperplasia, it would appear that the diffuse variety of thickening of the walls of the gut may result from an condition which can set up and maintain a chronic infection of the walls of the bowel, and the histological appearances of the diseased tissues and regional glands suggest that lymphatic obstruction and resulting chronic lymphatic oedema are factors of importance in the production of both