Rectal compliance: a critical reappraisal.
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.
Madoff
R D
RD
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.
Orrom
W J
WJ
Rothenberger
D A
DA
Goldberg
S M
SM
D002404:Catheterization; D006801:Humans; D008531:Megacolon / Q000503:physiopathology; D012007:Rectum / Q000502:physiology*