T. Aktug et al., END-RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTAL GASTROSCHISIS CREATED BY ABDOMINAL-WALL VERSUS UMBILICAL-CORD DEFECT, Pediatric surgery international, 12(8), 1997, pp. 583-586
An experimental study was conducted to determine the end-results of tw
o different defects on the anterior abdominal wall: an abdominal wall
defect (AWD) versus an umbilical cord defect (UCD) using chick embryos
. The AWD was created by leaving an intact skin bridge between the def
ect and the umbilical cord in group 1; the UCD was created on the umbi
lical cord near the junction of the skin in group 2. At the end of inc
ubation, the intestines appeared hemorrhagic in the AWD group, but not
in the UCD group. During microscopic examination, hemorrhagic areas w
ere observed in the bowel wall and mucosal villi in the AWD group but
not in the UCD group. The end-result of the defect causing the physiol
ogical umbilical hernia resulted in bowel damage resembling the classi
c picture of gastroschisis (GS). We conclude that the site of the defe
ct in GS is not the abdominal wall itself, but the physiological umbil
ical hernia.