During fetal development there is a stage in which the gut herniates out of the abdomen and undergoes a three-quarter anti-clockwise rotation around the mesenteric blood vessels (see MESENTERY). It then returns to the abdominal cavity where its position remains fixed. Occasionally this rotation is incomplete: while this may not produce any problem, it can cause of VOLVULUS, usually in young infants, when the gut twists around the blood vessels and mesenteric ADNEXA causing intestinal obstruction, with colicky pain and vomiting. Diagnosis is confirmed by imaging and corrective surgery performed, with fixation of the malpositioned intestine.