Etymed
malabsorption
Definition
The inability or failure of the digestive system to properly absorb nutrients from food, resulting in nutritional deficiencies and related symptoms
Clinical context
A 45-year-old woman presents with chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and fatigue over several months. She has pale, foul-smelling stools and shows signs of nutritional deficiency including angular cheilitis and petechial rash. Laboratory studies reveal low serum albumin and fat-soluble vitamin deficiencies. A small bowel biopsy confirms villous atrophy and crypt hyperplasia.
Mnemonic
MALLS - Malnutrition, Altered stool, Lymphadenopathy, and Steatorrhea
These morphemes also unlock…
- mal- — bad; poor
- absorption — process of absorbing; taking in