System – Digestive

What Is Increased Intestinal Permeability? Increased intestinal permeability is characterized by dysfunctional intestinal permeability (leakiness) allowing for the penetration of harmful entities from the gut into the bloodstream such as undigested proteins and microbes. The popular name is “leaky gut.” ...

What Is Chronic Constipation? Chronic constipation is an intestinal motility disorder characterized by abnormal stool formation, consistency, and evacuation. Motility disorder means the normal rhythmic movement of intestinal muscles, called peristalsis, that moves food matter through the gut is hampered ...

What Is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus? Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that is characterized by involvement of multiple organs due to the production of antibodies to components of the cell nucleus.1 SLE has an unpredictable course of acute ...

What Is Candida Albicans Infection? Candida albicans infection, called candidosis or candidiasis, is an opportunistic invasion of mucous membrane or skin by candida albicans, an endogenous yeast found in 40 to 80% of normal human beings. A former name for ...

What Is Low Stomach Acid Production? Low stomach acid production is a common disorder in celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis that is characterized by lack of sufficient hydrochloric acid needed 1) to properly digest food, which results in malnutrition and ...

What Is Crohn’s Disease? Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by patchy inflamed areas involving the full thickness of the intestinal wall that can occur anywhere in the intestinal tract, in addition to, mucosal disease. In Crohn’s disease ...

What Is Intestinal Dysbiosis? Intestinal dysbiosis is an imbalance of the composition and quantity of microbe populations (called the microbiota), that naturally inhabit our human gut. Dysbiosis causes altered gut immunity, abnormal fermentation of undigested foodstuffs, and impaired production within the ...

What Is Ulcerative Colitis? Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disorder of the colon characterized by continuous inflammation of the mucosa and submucosa usually with small ulcers, extending from the rectum and typically involving the distal colon, rectum, and anus and ...

What Is Lymphocytic Colitis? Lymphocytic colitis is a microscopic inflammation of the large intestinal mucosa with infiltration of lymphocytes (IELs)  that is characterized by non-bloody secretory diarrhea. Secretory diarrhea describes bowel movements that consist of a large volume of liquid ...

What Is Collagenous Colitis? Collagenous colitis is a disease of the large intestine (colon) that is characterized by microscopic inflammation of the surface mucosal lining and an abnormally thickened collagen band of tissue that develops wthin the lining of the colon. ...

What Is Helicobacter Pylori (H. Pylori) Infection? Helicobacter pylori infection is a potentially deadly stomach disease characterized by chronic superficial inflammation and ulcerations in 100% of infected patients. This infection disrupts normal defense and repair of the stomach lining and ...

What Is Lymphocytic Gastritis? Lymphocytic gastritis is an inflammatory stomach disorder that is characterized by superficial inflammation of the stomach lining (mucosa) that mainly involves the gastric antrum in children. Lymphocytic gastritis is defined by the recognition of more than 25 ...

What Is A Gastric Ulcer? Gastric ulcer is a painful stomach disorder characterized by an open sore involving the mucosa lining and deeper muscle layer of the stomach. Gastric ulcer is associated with lymphocytic gastritis which is inflammation of the mucosal ...

What Is Impaired Gall Bladder Motility? Impaired gall bladder motility means the gall bladder is slow to empty or is dysfunctional. The functional disorder of the gallbladder is caused initially either by metabolic abnormalities or by an alteration in its muscular ability to ...

What Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a motility disorder without anatomic cause involving the entire gastrointestinal tract that is characterized by these four features: 1) Abdominal pain usually relieved by defecation or passing of gas; 2) ...