In 1943, Heilbrun published an article on extensive changes in the colon, apparently as a result of excessive and prolonged use of irritant cathartics. To our knowledge, no other report on this subject has appeared in the literature. During the past two years we have seen 2 patients with changes in the colon very similar to those described by Heilbrun. A brief resume of his case and a report of our own cases follow. All 3 of these cases were thoroughly studied. Only the pertinent data are presented. Case Reports Case I (Heilbrun): A 36-year-old white female had from adolescence experienced a feeling of abdominal fullness and bloating, which seemed to be relieved by a complete evacuation. To insure this evacuation, she had taken cathartic tablets daily for the past twenty years. The cathartic was a well known patent medicine containing phenolphthalein, aloin, and podophyllum. During this twenty-year period the feeling of bloating and fullness persisted, although the patient's general health and nutrition r...