The d-xylose absorption test is useful in the diagnosis of tropical and idiopathic sprue, 1–4 but results are variable in other disorders and in elderly persons without intestinal disease. 5,6 ...

The workings of the small intestine have long been a mystery, but now we are discovering the hidden roles this organ plays in appetite, metabolism and the microbiome – and how to look after it better ...

STEATORRHEA is common in patients who have had all or part of the ileum removed. Originally, investigators assumed that this was because fat absorption occurred mainly in the ileum.1 In 1957, when ...

image: SATB2 deficiency confers small intestinal (ileal) properties on colon cells. Green fluorescent marker bound to cholesterol (top row) and glucose (bottom row) shows absorption of nutrients ...