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Related terms:
lactose intolerance
Whipple disease
malabsorption syndrome
steatorrhea
collagenous sprue
hyperhomocysteinemia
Disease or Syndrome
celiac disease Audio
ce·li·ac dis·ease [ see-lee-ak dih-zeez ]
Subclass of:
Malabsorption Syndrome
Also called:
Celiac sprue; Gluten Enteropathy; Gluten-sensitive enteropathy; Nontropical sprue
Definitions related to celiac disease:
  • A digestive disease that is caused by an immune response to a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Celiac disease damages the lining of the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. A person with celiac disease may become malnourished no matter how much food is consumed.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • A disease characterized by damage to the small intestine caused by an oversensitivity to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Celiac disease can interfere with the proper absorption of nutrients from food.
    Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
    Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
  • A malabsorption syndrome that is precipitated by the ingestion of foods containing GLUTEN, such as wheat, rye, and barley. It is characterized by INFLAMMATION of the SMALL INTESTINE, loss of MICROVILLI structure, failed INTESTINAL ABSORPTION, and MALNUTRITION.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
  • An autoimmune genetic disorder with an unknown pattern of inheritance that primarily affects the digestive tract. It is caused by intolerance to dietary gluten. Consumption of gluten protein triggers an immune response which damages small intestinal villi and prevents adequate absorption of nutrients. Clinical signs include abdominal cramping, diarrhea or constipation and weight loss. If untreated, the clinical course may progress to malnutrition, anemia, osteoporosis and an increased risk of intestinal malignancies. However, the prognosis is favorable with successful avoidance of gluten in the diet.
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune condition affecting the small intestine, triggered by the ingestion of gluten, the protein fraction of wheat, barley, and rye. Clinical manifestations of CD are highly variable and include both gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal features. The hallmark of CD is an immune-mediated enteropathy. This term is included because the occurence of CD is seen as a feature of a number of other diseases.
    Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)
    The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2021
  • Celiac disease is a systemic autoimmune disease that can be associated with gastrointestinal findings (diarrhea, malabsorption, abdominal pain and distension, bloating, vomiting, and weight loss) and/or highly variable non-gastrointestinal findings (dermatitis herpetiformis, chronic fatigue, joint pain/inflammation, iron deficiency anemia, migraines, depression, attention-deficit disorder, epilepsy, osteoporosis/osteopenia, infertility and/or recurrent fetal loss, vitamin deficiencies, short stature, failure to thrive, delayed puberty, dental enamel defects, and autoimmune disorders). Classic celiac disease, characterized by mild to severe gastrointestinal symptoms, is less common than non-classic celiac disease, characterized by absence of gastrointestinal symptoms.
    GeneReviews
    University of Washington, 2021
  • Celiac disease is an immune disease in which people can't eat gluten because it will damage their small intestine. If you have celiac disease and eat foods with gluten, your immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It may also be in other products like vitamins and supplements, hair and skin products, toothpastes, and lip balm. Celiac disease affects each person differently. Symptoms may occur in the digestive system, or in other parts of the body. One person might have diarrhea and abdominal pain, while another person may be irritable or depressed. Irritability is one of the most common symptoms in children. Some people have no symptoms. Celiac disease is genetic. Blood tests can help your doctor diagnose the disease. Your doctor may also need to examine a small piece of tissue from your small intestine. Treatment is a diet free of gluten. NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
    MedlinePlus
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
  • Disease occurring in children and adults characterized by sensitivity to gluten, with chronic inflammation and atrophy of the mucosa of the upper small intestine; manifestations include diarrhea, malabsorption, steatorrhea, and nutritional and vitamin deficiencies.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Celiac disease is an immunologically mediated disease in genetically susceptible people caused by intolerance to gluten, resulting in mucosal inflammation and villous atrophy, which causes malabsorption. Symptoms usually include diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. Diagnosis is by small-bowel biopsies showing characteristic though not...
    Merck Manuals
    Merck & Co., Inc., 2020
  • Celiac sprue, also known as celiac disease or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is a chronic disease of the digestive tract that interferes with the digestion and absorption of food nutrients. People with celiac sprue cannot tolerate gliadin, the alcohol-soluble fraction of gluten.
    Medscape
    WebMD, 2019
  • Celiac disease, sometimes called celiac sprue or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, is an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.
    Mayo Clinic
    Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
  • Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine and inhibits absorption of nutrients. People with celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, barley, and in some products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms. When affected people eat food with gluten, or use a product with gluten, the...
    NIH Genetic and Rare Diseases
    National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
  • Celiac disease is a systemic autoimmune disease triggered by dietary gluten peptides found in wheat, rye, barley, and related grains. Immune activation in the small intestine leads to villous atrophy, hypertrophy of the intestinal crypts, and increased numbers of lymphocytes in the epithelium and lamina propria. Locally these changes...
    Epocrates
    Athenahealth, Inc., 2019
  • Celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune digestive disorder in which affected individuals cannot tolerate gluten, a protein constituent of wheat, barley, malt, and rye flours. General symptoms of the disease include the passage of foul pale-coloured stools (steatorrhea), progressive malnutrition...
    Encyclopedia Britannica
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2020
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