title: Rectal compliance: a critical reappraisal.
abstract: Compliance is a widely measured parameter of rectal function. Its value is determined clinically by recording pressure changes associated with volume infusion into a rectal balloon. This paper examines the inherent assumptions of the rectal balloon technique and discusses several of its shortcomings. A stricter definition of rectal compliance is needed, and in vivo compliance should be correlated with the directly measured mechanical properties of the rectal wall.
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Madoff
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Orrom
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rothenberger
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Goldberg
mesh_terms: D002404:Catheterization; D006801:Humans; D008531:Megacolon / Q000503:physiopathology; D012007:Rectum / Q000502:physiology*