OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to determine how the hemodynamic parameters of the superior mesenteric artery are affected in small bowel diseases. METHODS One hundred thirty-seven patients whose clinical symptoms suggested an intestinal abnormality were evaluated with duplex Doppler sonography. The control group comprised 42 subjects recruited from the medical staff or from patients referred for renal sonography. RESULTS In 38 patients with diverse small bowel diseases, mean blood flow volume to the superior mesenteric artery territory (1.115+/-0.470 l/min) was significantly greater (p < 0.01) and the mean resistance index (0.82+/-0.06) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the mean values in the control group (0.692+/-0.250 l/min and 0.85+/-0.04, respectively). The mean peak systolic velocity and end-diastolic velocity in bowel disease patients were higher than the mean values in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Various intestinal abnormalities share common Doppler findings, eg, increase in blood flow volume, increase in both peak systolic and end-diastolic velocities, and decrease in resistance index. However, the absence of these findings does not exclude the possibility of small intestinal disease because of the overlap of the measurements in diseased and healthy subjects.