title: [Endoscopy of the small intestine].
abstract: Small bowel pathology has been a difficult problem for all the scientists related with the study of these diseases. Small bowel position; far from the oral cavity and rectum, makes it quite inaccessible to exploration. Although double-contras technique in radiology has improved the study of this part of the digestive tract, many of these lesions cannot be evaluated. During the last few years, endoscopy has developed a great deal and at present, equipments capable of exploring this segment are available, even though the technique needs to be improved making it less troublesome and uncomfortable to the patient. We present a study of 32 patients who underwent "push" jejunoscopy with a large sterilized colonoscope. The main indications were bleeding and diarrhea of unknown cause. Three patients had jejunitis; one had a lymphoma; the second had a bleeding polyp and the third patient had a multiple polyposis. Five patients with partial atrophy of intestinal villi were found to have a normal endoscopic appearance of the mucosa. This indicates the necessity of performing biopsy in all cases. The absence of complications accounts for the confidence and safety of the exploration.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Gastroenterología, Habana, Cuba.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paniagua
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: González
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D007421:Intestine, Small; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged