A congenital diverticulum of the small intestine; Meckel's diverticulum or duplication?

A diverticulum of the small intestine is a condition with only a low morbidity. This is generally a Meckel's diverticulum (MD). There is, however, the possibility of another congenital malformation, which can closely resemble a MD but has another etiology, the tubular duplication of the small intestine. In a period of three months six patients were treated with a MD with different clinical presentations and histologic findings and an invaginated duplication of the small intestine in a male adult patient. The diagnosis of a tubular duplication of the small intestine is not often considered when finding a diverticulum of the small intestine and such a malformation is too easily called a Meckel's diverticulum.