An ex-vivo human intestinal model to study Entamoeba histolytica pathogenesis.

Amoebiasis (a human intestinal infection affecting 50 million people every year) is caused by the protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica. To study the molecular mechanisms underlying human colon invasion by E. histolytica, we have set up an ex vivo human colon model to study the early steps in amoebiasis.

[Spiegelian hernias. Report of 51 cases].

We describe 51 cases of Spiegel's hernias, and report a critical review of the relevant literature. The patients presented with an isolated mass in 17 cases, abdominal pain in 17 cases, and a complication in 14 cases (intestinal occlusion in 8, incarceration in 6). The hernia was discovered fortuitously by compute tomography in three cases.