Key Points  As the majority of the gastrointestinal tract consists of luminal structures, strictures can develop that result in luminal obstruction.  Stenting is being utilized commonly in human medicine to recanalize structures that have been obstructed allowing for food passage or the passage of fluids such as bile and pancreatic secretions.  Stenting of gastrointestinal tract structures n...

The aim of the present review is to summarize the most recent progress in gastroenterological topics, particularly of the upper gastrointestinal tract, which are of special interest in the elderly. The changes in oesophageal function, particularly disorders of motility, may explain, only in part, the unique clinical characteristics of oesophageal pathologies in the elderly. Dysphagia and gastro...

Stress, defined as an acute threat to homeostasis, evokes an adaptive or allostatic response and can have both a short- and long-term influence on the function of the gastrointestinal tract. The enteric nervous system is connected bidirectionally to the brain by parasympathetic and sympathetic pathways forming the brain-gut axis. The neural network of the brain, which generates the stress respo...

Adverse drug reactions are common and there is an increasing interest in recognizing them. There are several studies that try to identify epidemiology, true incidence in hospitalized and not hospitalized patients and the main concerns about their causes and possible solutions. Gastrointestinal tract, mainly haemorrhages and peptic disease are the most common site of adverse drug reactions; that...

When swallowed, anthrax spores may cause lesions from the oral cavity to the cecum. Gastrointestinal anthrax is greatly underreported in rural disease-endemic areas of the world. The apparent paucity of this form of anthrax reflects the lack of facilities able to make the diagnosis in these areas. The spectrum of disease, ranging from subclinical infection to death, has not been fully recognize...

The clinical and pathological features of 3 cases of colonic malakoplakia are documented thereby bringing to 34 the total of recorded cases of malakoplakia involving the gastrointestinal tract. This is therefore the most common site of involvement outside the urogenital tract. A comprehensive review of the world literature on gastrointestinal malakoplakia has been made and the characteristic fe...

Although most ingested foreign bodies usually pass through the gastrointestinal tract asymptomatically, toothpick injury to the gastrointestinal tract is often associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Toothpick perforation of the gastrointestinal tract is frequently reported but, to the best of our knowledge, bacteremia caused by an impacted toothpick within the gastric mucosa has n...

My aim in this review is to use the rat as a model system for a discussion of the functional development of the gastrointestinal tract. I should make it clear at the outset that since the rat is an altricial species, many of the enzymic changes that occur postnatally in the rat occur prenatally in other mammals, including humans (Grand et al. 1976; Lebenthal et al. 1983). Nevertheless, I believ...

The endocannabinoid system mainly consists of endogenously produced cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) and two G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2). This system also includes enzymes responsible for the synthesis and degradation of endocannabinoids and molecules required for the uptake and transport of endocannabinoids. In addition, endocannabinoid-relat...

The objective of this section is to discuss major gastrointestinal disorders in the horse. Some of the disorders causing malabsorption will not be discussed in this section as they are covered in the “chronic weight loss” portion of this course. Most, if not all, references have been removed from the notes for the sake of brevity. I am more than happy to provide additional references for those ...