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Table 1 Definitions

From: Intestinal permeability – a new target for disease prevention and therapy

Intestinal barrier

is a functional entity separating the gut lumen from the inner host, and consisting of mechanical elements (mucus, epithelial layer), humoral elements (defensins, IgA), immununological elements (lymphocytes, innate immune cells), muscular and neurological elements

Intestinal permeability

is defined as a functional feature of the intestinal barrier at given sites, measurable by analyzing flux rates across the intestinal wall as a whole or across wall components of defined molecules that are largely inert during the process and that can be adequately measured in these settings

Normal intestinal permeability

is defined as a stable permeability found in healthy individuals with no signs of intoxication, inflammation or impaired intestinal functions

Impaired intestinal permeability

is defined as a disturbed permeability being non-transiently changed compared to the normal permeability leading to a loss of intestinal homeostasis, functional impairments and disease