ABSTRACT
The rare association of obstructing colorectal carcinoma and ischemic colitis in patients without an antecedent history of inflammatory bowel disease has been documented intermittently since the early 1960s after first case was described by Kremen in 1945. The etiology is not clear, but it is thought that sluggish mucosal blood flow and consequent ischemia occurs secondary to raised intraluminal pressure distally. The radiologic features are typically 'thumbprinting' appearence by the barium study, but maybe variable according to the stage of ischemic colitis. In many cases, radiologic features may be similar inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis and may mask the presence of the predisposing carcinoma. Sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy may detect irregular ulceration, mucosal friability, submucosal hemorrhage and bulging folds. The mucosa is usually covered by hemorrhagic and purulent exudate. We report a case of the ischemic colitis associated with sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma in 75-year- old man.