Bleeding lesions of the gastrointestinal tract in infants and children.

Bleeding from the alimentary tract is an important manifestation of significant disease in all age groups but particularly so in infants and children. Although the astute pediatrician often is able to suggest accurately the source of the blood as a result of careful evaluation of history and physical findings, the roentgen examination is of great value in providing information concerning the exact location and appearance of any lesion. The roentgenologist, therefore, is directly concerned with the causes of gastrointestinal bleeding in infants and children and the relative frequency of lesions producing it. The incidence of disease differs not only between adults and children but in children of various ages from birth to fifteen years. Conditions occur in infancy that are not seen in older children and adults. In order to classify the causes of bleeding from the alimentary tract, we first reviewed the case records and roentgenograms of all infants and children seen at the Mayo Clinic in a five-year period...