steatorrhea
Sign in to saveAlso known as obsolete steatorrhea, fatty stool
Steatorrhea (or steatorrhoea) is the presence of excess fat in feces. Stools may be bulky and difficult to flush, have a pale and oily appearance, and can be especially foul-smelling. An oily anal leakage or some level of fecal incontinence may occur. There is increased fat excretion, which can be measured by determining the fecal fat level.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Steatorrhea
- Medical condition (new).field
- Gastroenterology, general surgery
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
2,760 papers- Steatorrhea.The Medical clinics of North America · 1947
- Steatorrhea.The American journal of gastroenterology · 1957
- [Steatorrhea].Nordisk medicin · 1950
- [Steatorrhea].La Presse medicale · 1955
- [Steatorrhea].Giornale di clinica medica · 1956
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
Show 2 more facts
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C86917
- exact match
- purl.obolibrary.org/obo/SYMP_0000147
via Wikidata · CC0
~5 min read
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Causes
- Associated diseases
- Medications
- Excess whole nuts in diet
- Natural fats
- Artificial fats
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- See also
- References
Steatorrhea (or steatorrhoea) is the presence of excess fat in feces. Stools may be bulky and difficult to flush, have a pale and oily appearance, and can be especially foul-smelling. An oily anal leakage or some level of fecal incontinence may occur. There is increased fat excretion, which can be measured by determining the fecal fat level.
==Causes== Impaired digestion or absorption can result in fatty stools. Possible causes include exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, with poor digestion from lack of lipases, loss of bile salts, which reduces micelle formation, and small intestinal disease-producing malabsorption. Various other causes include certain medicines that block fat absorption or indigestible or excess oil/fat in diet.