Drug-related pathological lesions of the intestinal tract

Abstract

Pathologists need to be more aware of the capacity of drugs, in particular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, to produce a wide spectrum of lesions in the intestinal tract. Whilst the histological changes brought about by drugs are generally non-specific in character, certain features such as tissue eosinophilia, the presence of apoptotic bodies in the crypts of Leiberkhun or an increase in intra-epithelial lymphocytes in the colon should always raise the suspicion of drug effects.