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Hirschsprung Disease (HD)
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Will All My Children Have Hirschsprung Disease?
Hirschsprung (pronounced HURSH-sprung) Disease (HD), is a disease of the * large intestine, which usually occurs in children.
In some cases, Hirschsprung Disease is hereditary, which means mothers and fathers could pass it to their children. This can happen even if the parents don't have Hirschsprung Disease. If you have one child with Hirschsprung Disease, you could have more children with the disease.
Hirschsprung Disease is five times more common in males. Hirschsprung Disease is also 10 times more likely to occur in children with Down Syndrome.
Talk to your doctor about the risk.
Nerve Cells
Nerves are long fibers that carry messages from the body to the brain, and back again, like telephone lines. The messages often tell a body part what to do. Nerve cells are part of nerves. In the intestine, the nerve cells tell muscles how to push the stool along.
Definitions For This Page - In Alphabetical Order
* Large Intestine
Pronounced - in-TESS-tin The large intestine is a long tube that makes * stool and carries it out of the body.
* Stool Stool is solid waste from the body, the material that gets passed in a bowel movement.
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References:
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)
October 2004
digestive.niddk.nih.gov
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