Situs inversus - what are its causes, symptoms and treatment? This term is used to describe the location of organs in the interior of the organism other than the usual one - in the case of this unit, there are, among others, in addition to the fact that the liver is on the left side, not the right side, the position of the heart and lungs may also be altered. Most often, situs inversus does not lead to any he alth problems, but it is good to be aware that your internal organs are slightly different than your usual location. But why - since it causes no symptoms - is it important?
Contents:
- Situs inversus: what does this mean?
- Situs inversus: causes
- Situs inversus: symptoms
- Situs inversus: recognition
- Situs inversus: treatment
- Morphine: symptoms of taking
Situs inversus - what is it? The explanation can start with the anatomy, which in most people is analogous - of course there are some individual differences between people, but basically some general principles of the structure of the human body are met. This means, among other things, that in humans the heart is located on the left side of the body, the right lung has three lobes and the left two lobes, while the liver extends in the right part of the abdominal cavity. This is true of the vast majority of people, but definitely not all of them - it is estimated that 1 in 10,000 people (i.e. 0.01% of the population) have a condition known as situs inversus.
Situs inversus: what does this mean?
Situs inversus is a congenital phenomenon in which the internal organs are located differently than usual - they are inverted as if you were looking at their mirror image.
As typically the heart is located on the left side of the chest, also in people with situs inversus this organ extends on the right side. The lungs of people with visceral inversion are also different than most people - the right lung has two and the left three lobes (usually the opposite is true).
The liver - instead of on the right side - may be on the left side of the abdominal cavity, while the stomach andspleens can be located in the right part of the abdomen (they typically extend to the left side).
The change in anatomical relations also applies to other structures of the digestive tract (e.g. intestines or gallbladder), as well as blood vessels, nerve fibers and structures of the lymphatic system.
It is worth emphasizing here that in the case of situs inversus, the heart is most often actually located on the right side of the chest (it is referred to as situs inversus totalis or complete visceral inversion, while the position of the heart itself is called dextrocardia).
However, there is also a situation where, despite the opposite position of all other organs, the heart will be located in a human as typically, i.e. on the left side. It is then said about an incomplete visceral inversion, but this phenomenon is much less common than situs inversus totalis, because in only one in two million people.
Situs inversus: causes
Situs inversus occurs during fetal life - you simply enter the world with an inverted viscera. This change is caused by mutations - most often it is the result of autosomal recessive mutations, however, there have already been cases where situs inversus was caused by autosomal dominant or X-linked mutations.
The problem, which is particularly related to situs inversus, is primary ciliary dyskinesia - it turns out that this unit is found in as many as 1 out of 4 people with visceral inversion. In the course of the problem, there are disturbances in the cilia function in various parts of the body, which - after human arrival - lead to difficulties in the movement of secretions in the respiratory tract.
During fetal life, the proper movement of the cilia is necessary for the individual organs of the human body to reach their typical positions, which is why situs inversus may occur in the course of primary ciliary dyskinesia. This unit is associated with the term Kartagener syndrome, which is found in patients struggling with three problems simultaneously, which are visceral inversion, bronchiectasis and chronic sinusitis.
Situs inversus: symptoms
Most often - at least for some time - the person who has had the bowel inversion does not know it at all. This is because situs inversus typically does not lead to any discomfort. Usually, only the location is subject to changeindividual organs in the abdominal cavity, and their function is fully normal. Symptoms may, however, appear in those people who develop some congenital heart defects due to situs inversus - it is estimated that they occur in up to 10% of patients with visceral inversion, and the translation of great arterial trunks can be given as an example.
Usually situs inversus does not pose any threat, but sometimes the different location of internal organs leads to certain difficulties. An example is the situation where a patient with visceral inversion develops appendicitis. Typically, in the course of this disease, pain appears in the right lower abdomen, however, when in a patient with situs inversus the appendix is located on the left side, the pain may appear in that location. Such a situation may lead to delays in making a proper diagnosis for the patient, which - luckily quite rarely - may worsen the patient's prognosis.
Situs inversus: recognition
In most cases, the diagnosis of situs inversus is made accidentally. Atypical location of internal organs can be detected during various imaging tests, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, but atypical location of organs can be observed in such commonly available examinations as chest X-ray.
After the patient is diagnosed with visceral inversion, it is extremely important that he informs the visiting doctors that such a phenomenon is taking place. This avoids many misunderstandings - for example, when auscultating the chest, the doctor may be surprised when he hears the sounds that he should properly hear in the left part of the chest on the completely opposite side.
Situs inversus: treatment
As mentioned previously, visceral inversion does not lead to any he alth problems, therefore patients who experience this phenomenon do not require any treatment. Situs inversus generally does not affect either the survival rate or the quality of life - this can be confirmed by the case of a woman from the United States who lived 99 years and decided to donate her body to a university teaching anatomy after her death. It was only during these classes that it turned out that the woman had had her bowels reversed. Among the famous people who have situs inversus is singer Enrique Iglesias.
About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University ofPoznan. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.