Question: A 50-year-old truck driver comes to your clinic for a work physical. He has had no upper respiratory, cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, urinary, or musculoskeletal system complaints. His past medical history is significant for mild arthritis and prior knee surgery in college. He is married and just changed jobs, working for a different trucking company
Answer:
The 50-year-old truck driver most likely has a rectal prolapse. This is a condition where the rectum falls down into the anal canal. The rectum is the last part of the large intestine, and the anal canal is the last part of the rectum. The anal canal is about 2-3 inches long. The rectum prolapses when the rectum becomes too weak to hold up the weight of the intestine. The prolapse may be partial or complete. In this truck driver’s case, it is most likely a partial prolapse.
