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System – Digestive

Disorders of the digestive system cause damage to tissues and/or dysfunction of the organs that make up the digestive system: the mouth including salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, sigmoid colon, rectum and anus. Organs that help with digestion but are not part of the digestive tract are the pancreas, liver, and gallbladder.

Gluten Sensitive Enteropathy (Active Celiac Disease)

What Is Gluten Sensitive Enteropathy? Gluten sensitive enteropathy is active celiac disease characterized by inflammation of the small intestinal mucosa that results from an inherited immunologic intolerance to ingested gluten. Q: What does the inflammation do to the mucosa in the small ...

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Dental Enamel Defects (Defective Tooth Enamel)

What Are Dental Enamel Defects? Dental enamel defects (DED) comprise a variety of abnormalities in the dental enamel of the second or permanent teeth and of primary or baby teeth. Teeth may appear with pits, thin or missing enamel, non-white enamel (yellow, ...

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Gas

What Is Obnoxious Gas? Obnoxious gas, or flatus, is gas that is not only offensive when passed but also lingers in the air longer than ordinary gas does. Gas is a natural digestive product within the colon that is composed mainly of ...

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Lymphoma, Enteropathy-Associated T-Cell (EATL) 

What Is Enteropathy-Associated T-Cell Lymphoma? Enteropathy associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL), although rare, is a tumor of intraepithelial lymphocytes. It is the most common primary gastrointestinal T-cell lymphoma and is characterized by its aggressive course and poor prognosis. Primary means this ...

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Diarrhea, Chronic

chronic diarrhea gluten celiac disease symptom

What Is Chronic Diarrhea? Chronic diarrhea is an intestinal motility disorder characterized by 1) alteration in stool formation causing loose to fluid movements and quantity of movements with or without abdominal pain and 2) interference with normal carbohydrate salvage by ...

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Cancer Of The Pharynx 

What Is Cancer Of The Pharynx? Cancer of the pharynx is a malignant growth of stratified squamous cells that line the pharynx, or throat. Q: What are stratified squamous cells that line the pharynx? A: Stratified squamous cells are thin, flat epithelial ...

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Adenocarcinoma Of Small Intestine (Cancer)

What Is Adenocarcinoma Of Small Intestine? Adenocarcinomas are malignant tumors, or cancer, of the small bowel arising out of glandular tissue. They fall in the category of rare neoplasm, comprising only 3% of all gastrointestinal malignancies. Primary adenocarcinoma is the ...

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Sucrose Intolerance and Sucrosemia 

What Is Sucrose Intolerance And Sucrosemia? Sucrose intolerance is the inability to digest sucrose, a widely available sugar, while sucrosemia is the abnormal presence of sucrose in the bloodstream. Q: Why cannot the body digest sucrose? A: Sucrose, such as cane ...

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Small Bowel Intussusception

What Is Small Bowel Intussusception? Small bowel intussusception is a bowel derangement that is characterized by the slipping of one section of intestine into another, leading to bowel obstruction. Acute bowel intussusception is a rare manifestation in adults, which mainly involves ...

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Vomiting

What Is Vomiting? Vomiting is the regurgitation of swallowed food back out of the mouth. What Is Vomiting In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

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Tongue – Pale, Smooth, Burning

What Is A Pale, Smooth, Burning Tongue? A pale, smooth, burning tongue is an alteration in tongue tissue characteristic of iron deficiency. The tongue is also swollen.1 Additionally, the sore tongue surface may be invaded by candida yeast which takes ...

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Tongue – Fiery Red, Smooth, Burning

What Is A Fiery Red, Smooth, Burning Tongue? A fiery red, smooth, burning tongue is an alteration in tongue tissue that is characteristic of advanced niacin deficiency.1 Q: How does niacin deficiency cause the tongue to be red and sore? ...

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Tongue – Beefy Red, Smooth, Burning 

What Is Beefy Red, Smooth, Burning Tongue? Beefy, red, smooth, burning tongue is an inflammatory alteration in tongue tissue characteristic of vitamin B12 deficiency. Inflammation makes the tongue red and sore which, when untreated, progresses to atrophied papillae (shrunken taste ...

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Food Allergy – IgE and Non IgE

What Is Food Allergy? Food allergy is an abnormal immune response to food proteins that may damage the small intestinal  lining and produce malabsorption of food. The reaction is usually delayed which makes it difficult to identify the offending food that ...

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Plummer-Vinson Syndrome Affecting Esophagus

What Is Plummer-Vinson Syndrome Affecting the Esophagus? Plummer-Vinson syndrome is a manifestation of severe, long-term, iron deficiency anemia that is characterized by post-cricoid esophageal webs and dysphagia. Q: What are esophageal webs? A: Esophageal webs are one or more thin ...

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