Reading
Practice pronunciation of medical terms by reading the following medical report aloud.
Rectal Bleeding
This 50-year-old white man has lost approximately 40 pounds since his last examination. The patient says he has had
no dysphagia or postprandial distress, and there is no report of diarrhea, nausea, emesis, hematemesis, or constipation.
The patient has had a history of regional enteritis, appendicitis, and colonic bleeding.
The regional enteritis resulted in an ileostomy with appendectomy about 6 months ago. On 5/30/xx, a sigmoidoscopy
using a 10-cm scope showed no evidence of bleeding at the anorectal area. A 35-cm scope was then inserted to a level
of 13 cm. At this point, angulation prevented further passage of the scope. No abnormalities had been encountered,
but there was dark blood noted at that level.
My impression is that the rectal bleeding could be due to a polyp, bleeding diverticulum, or rectal carcinoma.
Evaluation
Review the medical report above to answer the following questions. Use a medical dictionary such as Taber’s
Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary and other resources if needed.
- What is the patient’s symptom that made him seek medical help?
- What surgical procedures were performed on the patient for regional enteritis?
- What abnormality was found with the sigmoidoscopy?
- What is causing the rectal bleeding?
266 CHAPTER 6• Digestive System
Term Definitionileostomy
ĭl-ē-ŎS-tō-mēpostprandial
pōst-PRĂN-dē-ălVisit the Medical Terminology Simplifiedonline resource center at DavisPlus to hear
pronunciation and meanings of selected terms in this medical report.