الفهرس 
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Abstract
Rheumatoid disorders frequently have gastrointestinal manifestations. The gut acting as a selective barrier to luminal material, absorbs needed nutrients, water, electrolytes and vitamins and exclude the rest. If the bowel is unable to exclude non- nutritive material then potentially antigenic material could cross the mucosa and enter the circulation. Studies have demonstrated that patients with rheumatoid arthritis do have a ”leaky” gut, or increased intestinal permeability which may be an important part of the pathogenesis of this disorder. Abnormal intestinal permeability could allow luminal antigens to cross the mucosa and to gain access to the lamina propria. Either a normal or an exaggerated immunological response to these antigens may then produce disease.