Angiographic evaluation of vascular changes in ulcerative colitis.

Selective superior and inferior mesenteric angiography was carried out in 25 patients with ulcerative colitis. Vascular changes in angiography were compared with the clinical features of the patients. There was no correlation between vascular changes in angiography and the duration of illness or the extent of involvement. The vascular changes of large vessels, such as increased diameter of the inferior mesenteric artery, had better correlation with the severity or the activity of illness. However, we found that in some cases microcirculatory changes of small vessels of the intestinal wall, such as the findings of capillary brush or loss of normal tapering of vasa recta, still remain in remission of this disease. We assume that this microcirculatory disturbance plays an important role in the pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis.