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The authors present a full consideration of the syndrome of mucous colitis. Clinically, they delimit the syndrome to cases in which there is at some time constipation or diarrhea, abdominal pain, and stools of small size. They point out that the first symptom is constipation while diarrhea is a later development, although these may alternate. In their material the passage of long strings of mucous or of mucous casts of the bowels was a frequent occurrence. Abdominal pain was considered by them to be a sine qua non of the syndrome. This was usually below the umbilicus. They felt that the most important single diagnostic procedure was sigmoidoscopy. They found recognizable sigmoidoscopic changes in 89% of their cases. They felt that the sigmoidoscopic picture was not specific but was of value along with other data in eliminating the diagnoses of more serious types of gastrointestinal disease.
They consider mucous colitis to be “a physiological disorder of the colon brought about through the action of the parasympathetic nervous system.” The objective changes in the colon in this condition are all represented by the systemic effect of cholinergic drugs. Certain physiological and pathological states are predisposing factors. Such conditions as anthropological habitus, physical training, occurrence of infectious disease, allergy, fatigue, are important predisposing factors. Emotional tension was present in 92% of their cases and is considered by them to be the commonest source of parasympathetic overstimulation.
Certain specific characteristics of the personality are also considered