Definition

Noun: A medical condition characterized by the body's inability to properly absorb nutrients from food. This leads to a specific pattern of symptoms including loss of appetite, bloating, weight loss, muscle pain, and steatorrhea (fatty stools). It is associated with underlying diseases such as celiac disease, sprue, and cystic fibrosis.

Usage

The term is used in medical contexts to describe a clinical condition resulting from impaired nutrient absorption. - It is typically used as a countable noun (e.g., a malabsorption syndrome, various malabsorption syndromes). - It often follows a verb like have, diagnose, treat, or cause.

Examples

• The patient was diagnosed with malabsorption syndrome after experiencing chronic diarrhea and unexplained weight loss.
• Celiac disease is a common cause of malabsorption syndrome.
• The doctor explained that the bloating and fatigue were part of a malabsorption syndrome.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be specified by the underlying cause, though this is often treated as a separate, associated condition (e.g., ).
• In medical literature, it may be discussed in the context of its pathophysiology, such as "defects in intestinal digestion and absorption leading to malabsorption syndrome."

Variants and Related Words

• Malabsorption (noun): The impaired absorption itself, which is the core process behind the syndrome.
  • The test confirmed intestinal malabsorption.
• Malabsorptive (adjective): Relating to or characterized by malabsorption.
  • She has a malabsorptive disorder.

Synonyms

• Malabsorption disorder: A very close synonym, though "syndrome" implies a specific set of co-occurring symptoms.
• Malabsorptive state: A more general term for the condition.

Related Phrases

• Secondary malabsorption: Malabsorption caused by another primary disease.
  • The chronic pancreatitis led to secondary malabsorption.
• Idiopathic malabsorption syndrome: Malabsorption syndrome with no known cause.

Noun

1. a pattern of symptoms including loss of appetite and bloating and weight loss and muscle pain and steatorrhea; associated with celiac disease and sprue and cystic fibrosis