Celiac disease (CD) is characterized by an inability to absorb gluten. Gluten, also known as glutenin, is a protein found in “wheat, rye, barley, spelt and triticale” (Turner and Torkos). The problem with this disease is that it is an “autoimmune disease in which the immune system responds to gluten by damaging the small intestine” (Turner and Torkos). These lesions of the small intestine are “characterized by villous atrophy” in “genetically predisposed” people (Parnell and Ciclitira). The disorder can be latent for years, then suddenly cause horrible symptoms that can be misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome. There is a danger in misdiagnosis because many high-fiber foods used to help control irritable bowel syndrome are gluten-containing foods that will further damage the small intestine and the microvilli within it. Damage to microvilli is particularly dangerous because without the presence of these tiny finger-like projections and the lining that surrounds them, the intestines are unable to absorb proper nutrients to fuel the body. In the case of eighty-year-old Florence, the disease had disastrous consequences on her body. Unbeknownst to her, her body had begun to reject gluten, damaging the microvilli in an attempt to absorb vitamins and minerals from the foods she ate. Suffering from curious bouts of abdominal pain accompanied by nausea, she went to her doctor for answers and was treated with a blood test to check for celiac disease, a flawed technique at best for discovering the true nature of what she was suffering from. . The blood test returned a result ruling out the possibility of celiac disease. As she searched for answers, her body searched for the proper nutrients it needed to stay healthy and function...... middle of paper ......2011.Florence. Personal interview. February 8, 2011. Hadziselimovic, Faruk, Renata Geneto and Mauro Buser. “Celiac disease, pregnancy, small for gestational age: role of the extravillous trophoblast.” Fetal and Pediatric Pathology 26.3 (2007): 125-134. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Internet. January 21, 2011. Kwon, John H and Richard J Farrell. “Recent advances in the understanding of celiac disease: therapeutic implications for the management of pediatric patients.” ABSTRACT. Pediatric Medicines 8.6 (2006): 375-388. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Internet. January 24, 2011. Parnell, ND and PJ Ciclitira. “Review article: celiac disease and its management.” Food Pharmacology and Therapeutics 13.1 (1999): 1-13. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Internet. 21 January 2011. Turner, L and Torkos, S 2009, 'GLUTEN FREE HANDBOOK.', Better Nutrition, 71, 10, pp. 36-40, Health Source - Consumer Edition, EBSCOhost, accessed February 8 2011.