Q41.8: Congenital absence, atresia and stenosis of other specified parts of small intestine

There is a congenital defect which means one or more sections of the small intestine are changed.

The small intestine is the longest section of the digestive tract. It consists of 3 sections. The 1st section begins immediately after the stomach and is called the duodenum. The gallbladder and the pancreas secrete the digestive juices in this section. The jejunum and ileum sections come next. The nutrients are absorbed into the blood from the food in the small intestine. The small intestine is followed by the large intestine. If tissue fails to develop properly, defects can occur. A defect in the small intestine can take different forms. It may be that a section of the small intestine failed to develop and so is missing. It may be that one section is narrower than usual. This is called a stenosis. A section may even be so narrow that it is sealed.

If a section is narrow or sealed, it can cause various problems. The smaller the internal opening of a section of the duodenum is, the less partially digested food can move on to the subsequent sections of the intestine. The partially digested food backs up at the bottleneck. This can cause vomiting. If a section is missing, the small intestine as a whole is shorter. Defects in the small intestine can mean that the body may be absorbing less nutrients and water from the intestine. This can cause malnutrition. This can impair general physical development.