Gastrointestinal Imaging

Malabsorption

deficient mucosal absorption of nutrients from the gastrointestinal tract. Many diseases may cause malabsorption. The integrated process of digestion and absorption can be disturbed at the luminal phase, the mucosal phase or the removal phase. The recognition of malabsorption syndromes is based mainly on clinical and biochemical laboratory tests and the diagnosis is based on mucosal biopsy and histological findings.

Small bowel enema may be helpful for displaying a pattern of findings that is highly suggestive of a specific aetiological diagnosis as for instance in the bacterial overgrowth syndrome, adult coeliac disease or short bowel syndrome. Radiological imaging of the pancreas is very important in patients with malabsorption in order to detect pancreatic conditions that may cause malabsorption such as pancreatic carcinoma and chronic pancreatitis (see pancreatitis chronic.

ALB