Disorders of the small bowel

This article provides a summary of common and important disorders affecting the small bowel, their investigation and management.The small bowel is the primary organ where the vast majority of digestion and assimilation of nutrients occurs, and as such, small bowel disease often presents with weight loss and diarrhoea. Small bowel disorders include Crohn's disease, coeliac disease, bacterial overgrowth and iatrogenic causes such as short bowel syndrome and radiation enteritis. Other presentations are central abdominal pain, anaemia and uncommonly gastrointestinal bleeding. Surgical presentations are usually with small bowel obstruction due to adhesions, intussusception (especially in children), fibrotic and inflammatory strictures and gastrointestinal bleeding. (102).