Malabsorption

Malabsorption is impaired uptake of nutrients from the digestive tract into the body. It can arise from problems with digestion, the intestinal lining, or nutrient transport.

Small intestine: The digestive organ where most nutrient digestion and absorption occur. Most clinically significant malabsorption reflects disrupted digestion or uptake in this organ.
Celiac disease: An immune-mediated small-intestinal disorder triggered by gluten in genetically susceptible people. It damages villi and is a common cause of chronic malabsorption.
Steatorrhea: Excess fat in stool, often producing bulky, greasy, difficult-to-flush bowel movements. It is a recognizable sign of fat malabsorption and helps direct investigation.
Maldigestion: Incomplete breakdown of food into absorbable molecules within the digestive tract. Maldigestion can cause malabsorption, but the primary failure occurs before intestinal uptake.
Brush border: The microvillus-covered surface of intestinal cells, bearing enzymes and transport proteins. Damage or enzyme loss at this surface can prevent final digestion and nutrient uptake.
Lactose intolerance: Digestive symptoms caused by insufficient lactase activity to digest lactose. Unabsorbed lactose draws water into the bowel and is fermented by gut bacteria.
Iron-deficiency anemia: Anemia caused by insufficient iron for hemoglobin production. Impaired iron absorption can contribute to iron deficiency, especially with proximal intestinal disease.
Food intolerance: Adverse symptoms after consuming a food, without the immune mechanism of food allergy. Food intolerance can cause similar symptoms without necessarily impairing nutrient absorption.
Intestinal villus: A fingerlike projection of the small-intestinal lining that increases absorptive surface area. Villus blunting reduces the area available for nutrient absorption.
Tropical sprue: An acquired small-intestinal disorder associated with residence in or travel to tropical regions. It can damage the intestinal lining and cause multiple nutrient deficiencies.

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