Rupture of an Iliac-Artery Aneurysm into the Sigmoid Colon

ALTHOUGH rupture of an abdominal aneurysm into the gastrointestinal tract was described as far back as the middle of the nineteenth century, it was not until 1943, when Rottino1 presented his excellent paper, that its clinical importance was realized. Since then, the role of this rare syndrome in modern medicine has been re-emphasized many times.2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kane et al.,6 in a review of 28,400 consecutive autopsies, found aneurysmal rupture into the gastrointestinal tract responsible for 6.1 per cent of all fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhages. Because the majority of aneurysms in their series were aortic and were thoracic and syphilitic in character, this . . .