sprue

1. Primary intestinal malabsorption with steatorrhea. SYN: cachexia aphthosa. 2. In dentistry, wax or metal used to form the aperture(s) for molten metal to flow into a mold to make a casting; also, the metal that later fills the s. hole(s). [D. spruw]

- celiac s. SYN: celiac disease.

- nontropical s. s. occurring in persons away from the tropics; usually called celiac disease; due to gluten-induced enteropathy.

- tropical s. s. occurring in the tropics, often associated with enteric infection and nutritional deficiency, and frequently complicated by folate deficiency with macrocytic anemia. SYN: tropical diarrhea.

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sprue 'sprü n

1) CELIAC DISEASE

2) a disease of tropical regions that is of unknown cause and is characterized by fatty diarrhea and malabsorption of nutrients called also tropical sprue

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(psilosis)

n.

deficient absorption of food due to disease of the small intestine. Tropical sprue is seen in people from temperate regions who stay in tropical climates for weeks or months. It is characterized by diarrhoea (usually steatorrhoea), an inflamed tongue (glossitis), anaemia, and weight loss; the lining of the small intestine is inflamed and atrophied, probably because of infection. Treatment with antibiotics and folic acid is usually effective, but the condition often improves spontaneously on return to a temperate climate. See also coeliac disease, malabsorption.

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(sproo) [Dutch spruw] 1. a chronic form of malabsorption syndrome occurring in tropical and nontropical forms. 2. in a dental casting, an opening in the investment through which the molten alloy or metal can reach the mold space after the wax has been eliminated.