What is malabsorption syndrome, Biology

Assignment Help:

Q. What is Malabsorption Syndrome?

Did you know that a major part of the absorption of nutrients takes place in the small intestine and the set of enzymes involved in this process are called disaccharidases. In some conditions either genetically, or due to some intestinal damage there appears to be a deficiency of some of these enzymes, which in turn, leads to the malabsorption of some of the nutrients precipitating symptoms of diarrhoea, dissention and abdominal discomfort and steatorrhoea (fat in stools).

These conditions are together referred to as Malabsorption Syndromes. The term 'malabsorption syndrome', as you have learnt earlier also, is used to describe deficient absorption to a variable degree of a number of substances such as fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water.

Before we understand about this syndrome, let us look at the following case study. Anuradha, a teenager, presents to the physician's office with a two-year history of intermittent diarrhoea. Her reports reveal a past history of anaemia, anorexia and minor abdominal pain. Her weight has been the same for two years now. Her mother has attributed this to her having n "rough time in school". Her mother also questions whether the symptoms could be related to a recent move from their home. She has not yet reached menarche; A diet history suggests a normal diet with adequate iron intake. Can you guess what she suffers from and what could be the causative factors leading to such a condition?


Related Discussions:- What is malabsorption syndrome

Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart diseases, Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic...

Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Diseases Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease of the heart potentially involving all layers of the heart. The resulting damage to t

What are the main endocrine glands of the human body, What are the main end...

What are the main endocrine glands of the human body? The major endocrine glands of the human body are the pineal gland (or pineal body), the hypophysis (or pituitary), the thy

Acute heart failure, Ac ute heart failure The acute heart failure is c...

Ac ute heart failure The acute heart failure is characterized by sudden loss of consciousness and falling with or without convulsions. The mucous membranes become pale followe

What are pentoses, What are pentoses? What are the roles of pentoses in DNA...

What are pentoses? What are the roles of pentoses in DNA and RNA molecules? Pentoses are carbohydrates made of five carbons. The DNA molecule is made of a sequence of molecu

Trypanosomiasis, Trypanosomiasis The trypanosomiasis, also known as Af...

Trypanosomiasis The trypanosomiasis, also known as African sleeping sickness or Chaga’s disease, is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, T. gambiense and T. rhodesience. T. evansi cau

Explain the polycarbonate nucleopore filtre, Explain the Polycarbonate Nucl...

Explain the Polycarbonate Nucleopore Filtre? A given sample is filtered through a membrane filter, usually polycarbonate nucleopore filter with a pore size that will retain bac

What is protocooperation, Q. What is protocooperation? The Protocoopera...

Q. What is protocooperation? The Protocooperation is the ecological interaction in which both participants benefit but which is not obligatory for their survival. The Protocoop

Maintain nutrition in diarrhoea, Maintain nutrition Your responsibilit...

Maintain nutrition Your responsibility as a nurse is to take care of nutrition and prevent the child from starvation. Breast feeding'should be continued during the diarrhoea e

Explain cholera, Cholera  The risk of infection with cholera is very lo...

Cholera  The risk of infection with cholera is very low in tourists. The parenteral vaccine licensed in the US is no longer available. One oral vaccine called Dukoral is availa

Agro industrial-evaluation of feedstuff, Evaluation of feedstuff In th...

Evaluation of feedstuff In the feed manufacturing process evaluation of the feed ingredients is very important in achieving consistent quality throughout the year. If one is a

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd