A volvulus is when a loop of intestine twists around itself and the mesentery that supports it, resulting in a bowel obstruction. Symptoms include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, vomiting, constipation, and bloody stool. Onset of symptoms may be rapid or more gradual. The mesentery may become so tightly twisted that blood flow to part of the intestine is cut off, resulting in ischemic bowel. In this situation there may be fever or significant pain when the abdomen is touched.Risk factors include a birth defect known as intestinal malrotation, an enlarged colon, Hirschsprung disease, pregnancy, and abdominal adhesions. Long term constipation and a high fiber diet may also increase the risk. The most commonly affected part of the intestines in adults is the sigmoid colon with the cecum being second most affected. In children the small intestine is more often involved. The stomach can also be affected. Diagnosis is typically with medical imaging such as plain X-rays, a GI series, or CT scan.Initial treatment for sigmoid volvulus may occasionally occur via sigmoidoscopy or with a barium enema. Due to the high risk of recurrence, a bowel resection within the next two days is generally recommended. If the bowel is severely twisted or the blood supply is cut off, immediate surgery is required. In a cecal volvulus, often part of the bowel needs to be surgically removed.
In humans, a single transverse palmar crease is a single crease that extends across the palm of the hand, formed by the fusion of the two palmar creases (known in palmistry as the "heart line" and the "head line"). Although it is found more frequently in persons with several abnormal medical conditions, it is not predictive of any of these conditions since it is also found in perfectly healthy persons. It is found in 1.5% of the world population in at least one hand. Former name
Because it resembles the usual condition of non-human simians, it was, in the past, called the simian crease or simian line. These terms have widely fallen out of favor due to their pejorative connotation. Medical significance
The presence of a single transverse palmar crease has no medical significance. It is found in 1.5% of all people, and though it is found at a higher frequency in people with abnormal medical conditions, in every one of these conditions many people do not have a single transverse palmer crease, thus it has low predictive value. Males are twice as likely as females to have this characteristic, and it tends to run in families.