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Granular small bowel mucosa: A reflection of villous abnormality

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Abstract

Diffuse mucosal granularity was reported recently in small bowel Crohn's disease. The radiographic appearance corresponded on histopathologic examination to villous hypertrophy, fusion, or epithelial bridge formation. We have observed similar granularity in Crohn's disease but also in several other conditions, including radiation enteritis, pancreatic glucagonoma, protein-losing enteropathy, and small bowel ischemia. Histopathologic examination demonstrated various alterations in villous morphology, such as edema, hyperplasia, clubbing, or fusion. In Crohn's disease, this appearance was sometimes an indication of early inflammatory disease but was also seen following extensive small bowel resection, possibly due to villous enlargement resulting from intestinal adaptation. These findings suggest that granular mucosa in the small bowel is a nonspecific finding reflecting an alteration in villous structure.

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Author notes

  1. Theodore M. Bayless

    Present address: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiologic Science, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Bronwyn Jones M.D. & Stephen E. Rubesin

  2. Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Stanley R. Hamilton

  3. Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Stanley R. Hamilton

  4. Division of Gastroenterology, The Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Digestive Disease Center, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Theodore M. Bayless, William J. Ravich & Thomas R. Hendrix

Authors
  1. Bronwyn Jones M.D.
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  2. Stanley R. Hamilton
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  3. Stephen E. Rubesin
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  4. Theodore M. Bayless
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  5. William J. Ravich
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  6. Thomas R. Hendrix
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Jones, B., Hamilton, S.R., Rubesin, S.E. et al. Granular small bowel mucosa: A reflection of villous abnormality. Gastrointest Radiol 12, 219–225 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01885147

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01885147

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