Bowel obstruction on X‑ray: 7 real cases

Real, openly licensed radiographs showing bowel obstruction. Study what to look for, then open each case and read it yourself before revealing the answer.

What to look for

  • Dilated loops of bowel proximal to the obstruction (small bowel over 3 cm, colon over 6 cm, caecum over 9 cm).
  • Small bowel: central loops with valvulae conniventes crossing the full width.
  • Large bowel: peripheral loops with haustra that cross only part of the width.
  • Little or no gas distal to the obstruction; multiple fluid levels on an erect film.

Learn: Small bowel obstruction

Quiz yourself on abdomen images

Cases

Radiograph from the case bank: Bowel obstructionCase #95190933Abdomen · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Bowel obstructionCase #98752881Abdomen · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Bowel obstructionCase #98752896Abdomen · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Bowel obstructionCase #61892126Abdomen · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Bowel obstructionCase #11634265Abdomen · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Bowel obstructionCase #4646018Abdomen · BeginnerRadiograph from the case bank: Bowel obstructionCase #8384519Abdomen · Beginner

Other abdomen diagnoses

Diagnoses come from each image's documented source. Credits and licences are shown on each case and on the image credits page.