Question

The patient is experiencing steatorrhea (fat in the stool). Test show that the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts is normal and the absorption of orally administered glucose is normal. A disorder in which of the following is most likely to be present?
A. Brush border enzyme level
B. Gastric motility
C. Ileal motility
D. Pancreatic enzyme secretion
E. Villus surface area

Answer 1

Answer:

The best answer from the choices given here, for the question: A disorder in which of the following is most likely to be present, would be, D: Pancreatic enzyme secretion.

Explanation:

The process of fat digestion, and especially of absorption, is a pretty complex one, because there are many steps that must take place in order for the body to reduce complex lips into their most basic units, and use them. As such, aside from pH in the stomach, and the contact with lingual lipase, which starts the process of unwinding of the lipidic structures, most of the absorption of these nutrients happens in the small intestine and vital to it is the mixing of pancreatic enzymes, especially lipase, to break down the unions enough that the mycelles are formed and the villi can capture these nutrients to pass them on to the lymphatic system. Usually steatorrhea, which is presence of fats in the stool, happens for several different reasons, but in this patient, given the characteristics, it is evident that he is having problems with the secretion of pancreatic lipase, and the fats are not breaking up so that the small intestines cannot absorb them.