Abnormalities of Anorectal Function in Patients with Chronic Constipation who are Unable to Defaecate

Over the last few months, at the General Hospital in Birmingham, we have been looking at a group of patients with chronic constipation whose main presenting symptoms have been an inability to open their bowels more than once a week without the help of large doses of laxatives and/or enemas. The duration of symptoms had been at least 2 years. This is a clinical and ongoing study and, as yet, we have not reached any conclusions.