A condition known as lactose intolerance is characterized by painful abdominal cramping, gas, and diarrhea. The cause of the problem is the inability to digest the milk sugar, lactose. How would this cause the observed symptoms?
What will be an ideal response?
If an individual cannot digest lactose, then the sugar will pass into the large intestine in the undigested form. The presence of extra sugar in the chyme increases the solute concentration of the chyme, resulting in less water being reabsorbed by the intestinal mucosa. The bacteria that inhabit the large intestine can metabolize the lactose, and in the process produce large amounts of carbon dioxide. The gas overstretches the intestine, which stimulates local reflexes that increase peristalsis. The combination of more fluid content and increased peristalsis produces the symptoms of diarrhea. The overexpansion of the intestine by gas causes the severe pain and abdominal cramping, and, of course, the increase in gas is directly related to the bacterial metabolism of the lactose.
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What will be an ideal response?What will be an ideal response?
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