Adhesions from prior abdominal surgeries are the most common cause of SBO. Untreated SBO can lead to serious complications like bowel perforation or tissue death (strangulation). Symptoms of SBO ...

This story is part of a series exploring human anatomy and physiology complexities. Each story in this collection showcases discoveries reshaping our understanding of the body's inner workings, ...

Medically reviewed by Kumkum S. Patel, MD Key Takeaways Villi are tiny projections in the small intestine that absorb ...

The gut microbiome is an important ecosystem of microbes that lives in each one of us, and its strength affects our overall health. However, the small intestine is an underappreciated part of the gut ...

Lindsay Curtis is a health & medical writer in South Florida. She worked as a communications professional for health nonprofits and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of ...

Small intestine cancer is a rare cancer that develops in the tissues of the small intestine, a 20-foot-long organ that ...

SIBO is when bacteria that normally live in your colon start growing too much in your small intestine. Diagnosing SIBO is tricky. There’s no perfect test, and symptoms like bloating and gas can be ...

The US humorist Christopher Morley once described the human body as “an ingenious assembly of portable plumbing”. He wasn’t wrong: from our cardiovascular and lymphatic systems to our guts and urinary ...

Doctors use laboratory tests, imaging studies, and endoscopic procedures to help diagnose short bowel syndrome, which affects nutrient absorption in the small intestine. Short bowel syndrome (SBS) ...