Inflammation of the intestine, especially of the small intestine. [entero- + G. -itis, inflammation]
- e. anaphylactica a hemorrhagic and necrotizing inflammation developing in the ileum (and also the colon) of sensitized dogs when they are fed a second dose of the sensitizing material. SYN: chronic anaphylaxis.
- diphtheritic e. e. with the formation of a membrane or a false membrane. SEE ALSO: pseudomembranous enterocolitis.
- granulomatous e. SYN: regional e..
- human eosinophilic e. segmental eosinophilic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract in humans; suspect etiologic agent is Ancylostoma caninum; laboratory indicators are eosinophilia and increased IgE.
- mucomembranous e. an affection of the intestinal mucous membrane characterized by constipation or diarrhea (sometimes alternating), colic, and the passage of pseudomembranous shreds or incomplete casts of the intestine. SYN: mucoenteritis (2).
- phlegmonous e. severe acute inflammation of the intestine, with edematous bowel wall infiltrated with pus.
- pseudomembranous e. SYN: pseudomembranous enterocolitis.
- regional e. a subacute chronic e., of unknown cause, involving the terminal ileum and less frequently other parts of the gastrointestinal tract; characterized by patchy deep ulcers that may cause fistulas, and narrowing and thickening of the bowel by fibrosis and lymphocytic infiltration, with noncaseating tuberculoid granulomas that also may be found in regional lymph node s; symptoms include fever, diarrhea, cramping abdominal pain, and weight loss. SYN: chronic cicatrizing e., Crohn disease, distal ileitis, regional ileitis, terminal ileitis, granulomatous e..
- tuberculous e. enteric tuberculosis may be caused by bovine tuberculosis contracted through drinking of unpasteurized milk or swallowing of tubercle bacilli expectorated from cavitary lesions in the lung; may occur in the absence of obvious pulmonary t.
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1) inflammation of the intestines and esp. of the human ileum
2) a disease of domestic animals (as panleukopenia of cats) marked by enteritis and diarrhea
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n.
inflammation of the small intestine, usually causing diarrhoea. Infective enteritis is caused by viruses or bacteria; radiation enteritis is caused by X-rays or radioactive isotopes. See also Crohn's disease, gastroenteritis.
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en·ter·i·tis (en″tər-iґtis) [enter- + -itis] inflammation of the intestine, usually referring only to the small intestine; see also enterocolitis.Medical dictionary. 2011.