This story is part of a series exploring human anatomy and physiology complexities. Each story in this collection showcases discoveries reshaping our understanding of the body's inner workings, ...

The small intestine is composed of duodenum, jejunum and ileum (left). IgA deficiency causes distortion of the gut microbiota, especially in the ileum, and inflammatory cytokines are secreted from T ...

The gut microbiome is an important ecosystem of microbes that lives in each one of us, and its strength affects our overall health. However, the small intestine is an underappreciated part of the gut ...

The US humorist Christopher Morley once described the human body as “an ingenious assembly of portable plumbing”. He wasn’t wrong: from our cardiovascular and lymphatic systems to our guts and urinary ...

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 small intestine comprises the longest portion of the alimentary canal and yet receives small consideration in the diagnosis of intestinal tumors. The reason is the rarity of neoplasms in the small ...