Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
Ogil·vie's syndrome Pronunciation:
'O-g&l-vEz- Function:
noun : distension of the colon that is similar to that occurring as aconsequence of bowel obstruction but in which no physical obstruction exists and that occurs especially in seriously ill individuals and as a complication of abdominal surgery
Ogilvie,
Sir William Heneage (1887–1971), British surgeon. Ogilvie's major professional association was with Guy's Hospital in London. He also served as an examiner in surgery for theuniversities of Oxford and Cambridge and as editor of the journal
Practitioner. He wrote a number of surgical treatises, contributed chapters to textbooks on surgery, and published monographs onbone fractures and hernias. His description of Ogilvie's syndrome was the subject of a 1948 article.
