A persistent cloaca is a complex congenital anorectal malformation in which the rectum, vagina and urinary tract meet and fuse into a single common channel. It arises in females when the embryonic anorectal and urogenital channels fail to separate during the sixth and seventh weeks of gestation. The common channel varies from about 1 to 10 cm in length, and its length helps predict outcomes and the difficulty of surgical repair: a channel under 3 cm usually comes with good sphincter muscles and a well developed sacrum. Cloacal malformations are rare, reported at roughly 1 in 50,000 live births in one passage and 1 in 20,000 in another. The condition is suspected in a girl born with an imperforate anus and small looking genitalia, confirmed by imaging and endoscopy, and treated by a team of pediatric surgeons, urologists and gynecologists using reconstructive surgery.
Facts
Classification
ICD-10 ChapterXVII: Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities 1 Communicable or Non-communicable Sources
1. Persistent cloaca (Wikipedia)
Lead
the rectum, vagina, and urinary tract meet and fuse
Lead [disease-category]
a symptom of a complex anorectal congenital disorder
lead sentence 1
A persistent cloaca is a symptom of a complex anorectal congenital disorder, in which the rectum, vagina, and urinary tract meet and fuse, creating a cloaca, a single common channel.
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