The small bowel mucosa in disease states characterized by chronic diarrhea: observations by scanning electron microscopy.

This paper summarizes observations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of surface ultrastructure of small bowel mucosa in patients (mostly children) with disorders characterized by chronic diarrhea. Included are chronic nonspecific diarrhea; conditions associated with villous damage, such as gluten-, milk protein- and soy protein-intolerance; giardiasis; cystic fibrosis and Crohn's disease. SEM has proven most useful to characterize pathologic processes on the surface of the small bowel mucosa, and thus has helped gain more insight to explain clinical symptoms. This was particularly true for chronic nonspecific diarrhea. It is predicted that SEM will become a valuable tool to aid in the diagnosis of diseases of the intestinal tract, which is considered one of the principal domains for such surface ultrastructure research.