ABSTRACT
Meconium peritonitis is an aseptic peritonitis caused by spill
of meconium in the abdominal cavity through one or several
intestinal perforations which have taken place during in-
trauterine life. Extravasation of sterile meconium into the
fetal peritoneal cavity causes an intense chemical and foreign
body reaction with characteristic calcification. Often, the
perforations seal before the infant is born. Gastrointestinal
perforations that occur following birth, even though the gut
still contains meconium, constitute an entirely different
group of clinical problems and should not be included in
the syndrome of meconium peritonitis.1,2
Meconium peritonitis was first reported by Morgagni in
1761 in De sedibus et causis morborum. Simpson3 managed to
find 25 cases in 1838 and it was Agerty4 in 1943 who reported
the first successful operation.
