Disease Information for Situs inversus

Lateral transposition of the viscera of the thorax and abdomen; It has a familial pattern and consanguineous parents have been reported; Situs inversus; Situs inversus is a condition in which the organs of the chest and abdomen are arranged in a perfect mirror image reversal of the normal positioning; Normal human development results in an asymmetrical arrangement of the organs within the chest and abdomen; Typically, the heart lies on the left side of the body (levocardia), and the lung on the left has two lobes while the lung on the right has three lobes; This normal arrangement is known as situs solitus; However, in about 1 in 8,500 people, the organs of the chest and abdomen are arranged in the exact opposite position: the heart is on the right (dextrocardia), as is the two-lobed lung, and the liver, and three-lobed lung are on the left; Yet because this arrangement, called situs inversus, is a perfect mirror image, the relationship between the organs is not changed, so functional problems rarely occur;

Rarely, situs inversus can run in families, but most often it is an isolated and accidental event occurring in an individual for the first time in the family; Most people with situs inversus have no medical symptoms or complications resulting from the condition; Although only 3-5% of people with situs inversus have any type of functional heart defect, this is higher than the rate of heart defects in the general population; It is estimated that about 25% of people with situs inversus have an underlying condition called primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD); PCD, also known as Kartagener"s syndrome, is characterized as situs inversus, chronic sinus infections, increased mucous secretions from the lungs, and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections; PCD is caused by a defect in the cilia that impairs their normal movements;

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