A case of idiopathic mesenteric phlebosclerosis: Insight into pathogenesis of associated vascular calcification

A 75-year-old woman had been taking a geniposide-containing herbal medicine for 7 years and was admitted to our hospital for nausea, abdominal pain, and distention. CT revealed colonic wall thickening, whereas CS revealed a dark-purple edematous mucosa. Furthermore, biopsy specimens revealed small vein hyalinization. Thus, she was diagnosed with idiopathic mesenteric phlebosclerosis (IMP) and underwent surgery. von Kossa staining revealed granules in the mucosal, submucosal, muscular, and subserosal layers, with mesenteric veins demonstrating calcium deposition. Taken together, calcium ion deposition was likely to have accounted for vascular wall calcification in IMP. The patient's course was uneventful for 3 months after surgery.