Growth of the colon and rectum throughout gestation: evaluation with fetal MRI.

Background: Congenital abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract are increasingly being evaluated by prenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, there is a paucity of reports describing the normal quantitative development of the fetal colon and rectum on MRI.

Purpose: To provide growth curves of the MRI estimated diameter of the fetal colon and rectum as a function of gestational age.

[Near fatal attraction of ingested magnets].

We report a case of intestinal perforation in a 20 month old girl following the ingestion of 2 small magnets. Ingestion of multiple magnets constitutes a unique problem. Magnets in adjacent intestinal loops may forcefully attract each other and produce pressure necrosis of the bowel wall, leading to perforation, fistula formation or intestinal obstruction.