Meconium
20453
219214694
2008-06-14T03:23:39Z
Azoreg
5650240
Added another Meconium picture to help clarify what this odd substance looks like.
<!-- Do not remove this image without first looking at the talk page and substantiating it. This image's inclusion has been discussed at length. -->[[Image:Meconium.jpg|thumb|200px|Meconium from 12-hour-old newborn — the baby's third bowel movement. Scale: 5 cm left to right.]]
[[Image:Meconium_Diaper.jpg|thumb|250px|Meconium from 13-hour-old newborn — the baby's first bowel movement. The baby was born at 41 weeks of gestational age, weighed {{oz to g|117.4}}, and was {{in to cm|19.5}} long.]]
{{For|the historical meaning of the term|Opium}}
'''Meconium''' is the earliest [[Feces|stools]] of an [[infant]]. Unlike later feces, meconium is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the [[uterus]]: intestinal [[epithelial cells]], [[lanugo]], [[mucus]], [[amniotic fluid]], [[bile]], and water. Meconium is [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VN3-4RJRVPP-2&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F30%2F2008&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b9504187af460b626e3cf410e5ef16f9 almost] sterile, unlike later feces, is viscous and sticky like tar, and has no odor. It should be completely passed by the end of the first few days of postpartum life, with the stools progressing toward yellow (digested milk). The term ''Meconium'' derives from ''meconium-arion'', meaning "[[opium]]-like", in reference either to its tarry appearance or to Aristotle's belief that it induces sleep in the fetus.<ref>Health on the Net Foundation Mother and Child Glossary [http://www.hon.ch/Dossier/MotherChild/labor_complications/birth_meconium.html]</ref>
[[Hirschsprung's disease]] is the inability to pass meconium.
Meconium is normally stored in the infant's intestines until after birth, but sometimes it is expelled into the amniotic fluid prior to birth or during [[childbirth|labor and delivery]].
Meconium can be tested for various drugs, to check for ''in utero'' exposure. In the USA, the results of meconium-testing run on a newborn can be turned in to [[child protective services]] and other [[law enforcement agency|law enforcement agencies]].<ref>''G.B. v. Dearborn County Div. of Family and Children'', 754 N.E.2d 1027 (Ind.Ct.App., 2001).</ref>
==Meconium ileus==
Sometimes the meconium becomes thickened and congested in the [[ileum]], a condition known as '''meconium ileus'''. Meconium ileus is often the first symptom of [[cystic fibrosis]].<ref>James H Hutchinson ''Practical Paediatric Problems'' 4th ed. London: Lloyd-Luke 1975 p. 314 ISBN 0-85324-114-7</ref> In cystic fibrosis, the meconium can form a bituminous black-green mechanical obstruction in a segment of the ileum. Beyond this there may be a few separate grey-white globular pellets. Below this level, the bowel is a narrow and empty micro-colon. Above the level of the obstruction, there are several loops of hypertrophied bowel distended with fluid. No meconium is passed, and abdominal distension and vomiting appear soon after birth. About 20% of cases of cystic fibrosis present with meconium ileus, while approximately 20% of one series of cases of meconium ileus did not have cystic fibrosis.<ref> Ali Hekmatnia ''Meconium Ileus'' [http://www.emedicine.com.radio/topic427.htm]</ref> The presence of meconium ileus is not related to the severity of the cystic fibrosis.<ref>Peter G Jones ''Clinical Paediatric Surgery'' 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell 1976 pp 74-5 ISBN 0-632-00089-9</ref> The obstruction can be relieved in a number of different ways.<ref>Michael S Irish ''Surgical Aspects of Cystic Fibrosis and Meconium Ileus'' [http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2995.htm]</ref>
Meconium ileus should be distinguished from ''meconium plug syndrome'', in which a tenacious mass of mucus prevents the meconium from passing.
==Other uses==
*In biology, meconium describes the [[metabolic]] waste product from the pupal stage that is expelled through the anal opening of the adult Royce [[butterfly]] upon [[Pupa|eclosion]] from the [[chrysalis]].
==See also==
*[[Meconium aspiration syndrome]] (MAS), a condition in which infants take meconium into their lungs before or during delivery
==References==
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[[Category:Human physiology]]
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[[Category:Feces]]
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