ABSTRACT
Structural changes of the gastrointestinal tract result from either severe inflammatory activity or fibrotic changes accompanying healing. Double-contrast barium enema has been found to be superior to colonoscopy to appreciate them (9). The loss of colonic haustral pattern due to submucosal edema and fibrosis is an abnormality reported in three-fourths of the cases examined in one study (5). Strictures always arise in areas of severe ulceration. Both their length and width vary considerably, ranging from less than 3 to more than I 0 em in length and to less than 5 mm in width. Sites of predilection for stricture development include the pyloric channel, the ileocolonic valve, and the rectosigmoid junction (I 0, II).
