Conventional Radiology in the Evaluation of the Small Bowel

Abstract

For many years, the small bowel has been considered as the “black box” of the gastrointestinal system because it could not be evaluated through endoscopy. For this reason, the conventional radiological methods, such as small bowel enteroclysis and small bowel follow-through, have been considered the standard approach for the evaluation of the small bowel in the diagnosis and management of Crohn’s disease for years. However, due to technological limits, the study of small bowel through conventional radiology has been focused mainly on its function than on its anatomy. To date, the conventional examination with the study of intestinal transit is now rarely used, if not obsolete, but it has still a historical value in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases.