Leiomyomas of the rectum

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Abstract
IN OUR combined experience only five leiomyomas of the rectum have been encountered. This paucity of smooth muscle tumors of the rectum is in accord with the experience of others. 4 The first report of a verified rectal leiomyoma was made by Vander Espt in 1881.s These tumors of the gastro-intestina l tract occur most frequently in the stomach (61 per cent), appendix and Meckel's diverticulum (19 per cent), and rectum (7 per cent).3 Of all rectal tumors, the incidence of leiomyomas varies from one in 2,000 to one in 3,000 cases. 1 Eighty-three per cent of leiomyomas of the colon occur in the rectum.3 There is no sex predominance. The average age is reported to be 47 years,3 with 60 per cent of cases occurring between the ages of 40 and 60. In the upper gastro-intestina l tract, these tumors may cause severe hemorrhage, pain, and intussusception. In the rectum, they are usually asymptomatic, and are found fortuitously. They rarely ulcerate and cause bleeding, and pain is experienced only with malignant change. Almost all leiomyomas of the rectum are within easy reach of the examining finger (four of our five cases). The anterolateral walls are the commonest sites of involvement. The leiomyoma is a tumor of smooth muscle which may arise from the circular and longitudinal muscle layers, the muscu

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