Biomaterial Database

The relation between ileal resection and vitamin B12 absorption. 1977

W G Thompson, and E Wrathell

Over 15 years, 33 patients, who had had 36 ileal resections that included the terminal ileum, had Schilling tests to measure the absorption of vitamin B12. In 11 patients who had 60 cm or more of ileum removed, only one test was normal, while in 25 patients with less than 60 cm resected, 17 tests were normal. Seven of the patients with over 60 cm of ileum resected had stool-fat estimations and none were normal. Eight of 10 patients who had less than 60 cm of ileum resected had normal stool-fat estimations. Results of the Schilling test, but not of the stool-fat estimations, are proportional to the length of ileal resection, up to 60 cm. Retention of terminal ileum tends to preserve vitamin B12 absorption capacity. Thus, if more than 60 cm of terminal ileum is removed, fat and B12 malabsorption are likely. The Schilling test is an indicator of the degree of terminal ileal dysfunction.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007082	Ileum	The distal and narrowest portion of the SMALL INTESTINE, between the JEJUNUM and the ILEOCECAL VALVE of the LARGE INTESTINE.
D007408	Intestinal Absorption	Uptake of substances through the lining of the INTESTINES.	Absorption, Intestinal
D008055	Lipids	A generic term for fats and lipoids, the alcohol-ether-soluble constituents of protoplasm, which are insoluble in water. They comprise the fats, fatty oils, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids, sulfolipids, aminolipids, chromolipids (lipochromes), and fatty acids. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Lipid
D008286	Malabsorption Syndromes	General term for a group of MALNUTRITION syndromes caused by failure of normal INTESTINAL ABSORPTION of nutrients.	Malabsorption Syndrome,Syndrome, Malabsorption,Syndromes, Malabsorption
D008722	Methods	A series of steps taken in order to conduct research.	Techniques,Methodological Studies,Methodological Study,Procedures,Studies, Methodological,Study, Methodological,Method,Procedure,Technique
D011183	Postoperative Complications	Pathologic processes that affect patients after a surgical procedure. They may or may not be related to the disease for which the surgery was done, and they may or may not be direct results of the surgery.	Complication, Postoperative,Complications, Postoperative,Postoperative Complication
D005243	Feces	Excrement from the INTESTINES, containing unabsorbed solids, waste products, secretions, and BACTERIA of the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014805	Vitamin B 12	A cobalt-containing coordination compound produced by intestinal micro-organisms and found also in soil and water. Higher plants do not concentrate vitamin B 12 from the soil and so are a poor source of the substance as compared with animal tissues. INTRINSIC FACTOR is important for the assimilation of vitamin B 12.	Cobalamin,Cyanocobalamin,Cobalamins,Eritron,Vitamin B12,B 12, Vitamin,B12, Vitamin