Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41331736›Full record

ArticleNeurogastroenterology and motility2026

Length of the Adult Human Colon in Health and Constipation Measured Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Faiz Alqarni, Soma Kumasaka, Caroline L Hoad, Victoria Wilkinson-Smith, Stuart Taylor, David Atkinson, Iyad Naim, Alex Menys, S Mark Scott, Marc A Benninga and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurogastroenterology and motility, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Faiz AlqarniTranslational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Soma KumasakaDepartment of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan.
Caroline L HoadNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Victoria Wilkinson-SmithTranslational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0878-1687
Stuart TaylorCentre for Medical Imaging, University College London, London, UK.
David AtkinsonCentre for Medical Imaging, University College London, London, UK.
Iyad NaimSir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Alex MenysCentre for Medical Imaging, University College London, London, UK.
S Mark ScottBlizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7997-1533
Marc A BenningaEmma Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Hayfa SharifJaber Al-Ahmad Armed Forces Hospital, Ministry of Defence, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Penny A GowlandNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Moira A TaylorNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Guruprasad P AithalTranslational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Robin C SpillerTranslational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6371-4500
Maura CorsettiTranslational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2957-4684
Luca MarcianiTranslational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9092-4300

Funding

King Saud UniversityMedical Research CouncilNational Institute for Health and Care Research
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundQuantitative data on colon length in adult chronic constipation (CC) are lacking. This study aimed to measure the length of the colon in CC, in the undisturbed state and after an osmotic laxative challenge, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as compared to healthy volunteers (HV) and IBS-C patients.

methodsSegmental and total colon length were measured by manual tracing on fasting MRI scans, retrieved retrospectively for 57 HV, 17 CC, and nine patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). In all CC patients and 22 HV, MRI scans were also performed after an oral osmotic laxative challenge. Participants' age range was 18-75 years. KEY

resultsCC patients showed significantly longer colons (162 ± 6 cm) than HV (127 ± 2 cm; p < 0.01), with 10/17 being longer than the upper limit of normal. Colon length in IBS-C (129 ± 6 cm) was similar to HV. The colon in HV was able to elongate from 133 ± 3 to 148 ± 4 cm (p < 0.0001) to accommodate the macrogol challenge influx, while the CC colon could not do so (from total length at baseline 162 ± 6 to 168 ± 5 cm; p = 0.0768). CONCLUSION & INFERENCES: The study provides normative values of colon length, to which CC and IBS-C are compared. CC was associated with increased colon length and reduced capacity to elongate longitudinally, rather than radially, in response to a laxative challenge. Colon length in IBS-C was similar to HV. These measurements can improve our understanding of gut disease pathophysiology and response to treatment.

Indexed as

ColonConstipationAdolescentAdultAgedChronic DiseaseFemaleHumansIrritable Bowel SyndromeLaxativesMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesYoung AdultLaxativeschronic constipationcolon lengthgastrointestinal imagingmacrogolMRI

Identifiers

PMID41331736
PMCPMC13244114

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.