A barium follow-through procedure is a type of medical imaging

Medical imaging

Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...

 technique. It is used to evaluate the presence of disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

 in a person's small intestine

Small intestine

The small intestine is the part of the gastrointestinal tract following the stomach and followed by the large intestine, and is where much of the digestion and absorption of food takes place. In invertebrates such as worms, the terms "gastrointestinal tract" and "large intestine" are often used to...

.

Examination

The patient drinks a contrast medium

Contrast medium

A medical contrast medium is a substance used to enhance the contrast of structures or fluids within the body in medical imaging...

 containing barium sulfate

Barium sulfate

Barium sulfate is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula BaSO4. It is a white crystalline solid that is odorless and insoluble in water. It occurs as the mineral barite, which is the main commercial source of barium and materials prepared from it...

. This contrast medium appears white on x-rays, and shows the outline of the internal lining of the bowel. X-ray images are taken as the contrast moves through the intestine, commonly at 0 minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes and 90 minutes. This enables the radiologist to assess the bowel as it becomes visible. The test is completed when the Barium is visualised in the terminal ileum

Terminal ileum

The terminal ileum is the most distal part of the small intestine. It connects to the cecum, the pouch between the small and the large intestine, via the ileocecal valve.-Pathology of the terminal ileum:...

 and Caecum, which marks the beginning of the large bowel. This is one of the most common places for pathology of the bowel to be found, therefore imaging of this structure is crucial. The test length varies from patient to patient as bowel motility is highly variable.

The barium is non-toxic and passed out normally as a stool, although the appearance may be paler than usual.

Pathology

The Barium follow-through test is used to diagnose conditions of the small bowel, most commonly Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease, also known as regional enteritis, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, causing a wide variety of symptoms...

. This shows up as intermittent sections of strictured bowel. Other bowel pathologies which are picked up on this test include:

• Ulcerative colitis
  Ulcerative colitis
  Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease . Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the colon , that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores. The main symptom of active disease is usually constant diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset...
  
  
• Bowel cancer

See also

• Contrast media
• Radiology
  Radiology
  Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
  
  
• Barium swallow
  Barium swallow
  A barium swallow is a medical imaging procedure used to examine the upper GI tract, which includes the esophagus and, to a lesser extent, the stomach.-Principle:...
  
  
• Barium meal
  Barium meal
  A barium meal, also known as an upper gastrointestinal series is a procedure in which radiographs of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum are taken after barium sulfate is ingested by a patient...
  
  
• Barium enema