{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,30]],"date-time":"2026-03-30T13:19:20Z","timestamp":1774876760072,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1727654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"King Saud Medical City"},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Purpose: Knowledge of the length of the colon is relevant to understanding physiological and pathological function. It also has implications for diagnostic and clinical interventions, as well as for the design of delayed-release drug formulations and drug disposition modeling. Methods: Over the years, a range of different experimental methods have been employed to assess colon length. These methods vary from direct measurements on cadavers and during intraoperative procedures to measurements obtained from endoscopic and medical imaging techniques. However, no systematic review or meta-analysis of these findings has yet been carried out. In this systematic review, we identified 31 published experimental studies that measured the length of the human colon and\/or its segments. Results: We synthesized the available data, comprising colon length measurements from 5741 adults and 337 children and young people, in a meta-analysis. The data contribute to our understanding of colon morphology and may have implications for clinical practice, particularly for colonoscopy and preoperative planning of surgical resections. Additionally, this review provides potential insights into anatomical correlates of functional diseases, such as constipation. Conclusions: This review highlights that non-invasive, non-destructive diagnostic imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can provide more physiologically relevant measurements of colon length. However, there is a need for more standardized measurement protocols and for additional pediatric data.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics14192190","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T11:32:05Z","timestamp":1727695925000},"page":"2190","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Experimental Measurements of the Length of the Human Colon: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Faiz","family":"Alqarni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 11196, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2910-6997","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tejal","family":"Akbar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3003-4688","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hala","family":"Fatani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5541-3847","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Soma","family":"Kumasaka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi 371-8511, Japan"},{"name":"Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5483-1027","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Caroline L.","family":"Hoad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6371-4500","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Robin C.","family":"Spiller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4100-8343","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Moira A.","family":"Taylor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"The David Greenfield Human Physiology Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9092-4300","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Marciani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Medical Sciences, Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bharucha, A.E., and Camilleri, M. 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