ISSN 2326-7275
International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology | Vol. 15, No. 9, September 2026 | pp. 001–005
DOI: 10.46882/2026/IJAP/000159
Article Type: Full Length Research Paper
Title: Duodenal Mucosa Variations in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
Names of Authors: Ahmed Medhat¹, Nadia Abd El Salam², Sahar M. Hassany¹, Howida I. Hussein², & Hubert E. Blum³*
Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology Department, Assiut University, Egypt. ²Pathology Department, Assiut University, Egypt. ³Department of Medicine II, Freiburg University Hospital, Freiburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The micro-anatomical boundaries between functional gastrointestinal disorders and low-grade structural mucosal alterations remain an active area of pathological inquiry. This study aimed to quantitatively analyze the morphometric and histological variations of the duodenal mucosa in patients diagnosed with functional gastrointestinal disorders presenting with chronic bowel symptoms. Duodenal tissue biopsies from 113 adult patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at Assiut University Hospital were retrospectively evaluated by histopathologic and morphometric profiling. Microscopic variables measured included villus height, crypt depth, villus-to-crypt ratio, and the density of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) per 100 enterocytes. Morphometric analysis revealed that 22.1% of patients exhibited a subtle reduction in mean villus height (385.4 ± 32.6 μm compared to standard anatomical references of >500 μm, p < 0.05). Additionally, an isolated increase in IEL count exceeding 25 per 100 enterocytes was documented in 14.2% of the tissue samples, signaling localized, low-grade mucosal immune activation despite macroscopically normal endoscopic findings. Crypt depth variations showed no significant correlation with patient age or gender dynamics (p > 0.05). These micro-structural changes indicate that a substantial subset of patients categorized with functional gastrointestinal conditions possess underlying low-grade duodenal enteropathy characterized by villous blunting and intraepithelial lymphocytosis. Recognizing these subtle histopathological variations is vital for clinical pathologists and gastroenterologists, as it points to organic structural modifications that may alter intestinal permeability and contribute to chronic diarrheal states.
Keywords: Duodenal mucosa, Morphometry, Villus height, Intraepithelial lymphocytes, Histopathology, Functional dyspepsia
Manuscript Timeline: Received: May 12, 2026; Revised: June 18, 2026; Accepted: July 04, 2026; Published: September 15, 2026
Citation: Ahmed Medhat, Nadia Abd El Salam, Sahar M. Hassany, Howida I. Hussein, & Hubert E. Blum (2026). Duodenal Mucosa Variations in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. International Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, 15(9), 001–005. DOI: 10.46882/2026/IJAP/000159