Ileal atresia was first described in 1684 by Goeller. In 1812, Johann Friedrich Meckel reviewed the topic and speculated on an explanation. In 1889, English surgeon John Bland-Sutton proposed a classification system for intestinal atresia and suggested that it occurs at areas that are obliterated as part of normal development. In 1900, Austrian physician Julius Tandler first put forward the theory that it may be caused by lack of recanalisation during development.
