[Macroscopic and microscopic pathological anatomy of the hemorrhoidal vascular network in hemorrhoidal disease].

In this study, the writers have taken as the basis of their investigation the anatomic and pathological analysis of samples studied as a matter of course after hemorrhoidal operations performed regularly at St Mark's Hospital. They describe their macro- and microscopic findings and, in the discussion, they summarise the development of our knowledge in this field, note the inconsistency between anatomical conclusions and clinical variations, stress the importance of the slipped vascular pad phenomenon, and reject the oft-cited concept of the existence of a corpus cavernosum in the rectum.