In recent years, a rather definite upsurge in interest in the problem of mesenteric vascular occlusion has occurred, evidenced by the increasing number of articles that have appeared on the subject. It is generally accepted that this interest was first stimulated by Tiedeman's1report in 1843. Allbutt2attributes the first description of mesenteric thrombosis to Antonio Beniviene of Florence in the 15th century. In 1895, Elliot3reported the first successful resection of an intestinal infarction with vascular occlusion. Mersheimer, Winfield, and Fankhauser4recently accumulated reports from the literature describing 212 successful resections for mesenteric vascular occlusion and added 5 of their own cases. Their bibliography is probably as complete a compilation as it is possible to make. Mesenteric vascular occlusion is a complex that may be caused by venous thrombosis, arterial embolism, arterial thrombosis, rupture of mesenteric vessels, or vascular trauma. Concern in this paper is