Normal small intestinal mucosa is seen at the left, and mucosa involved by celiac sprue at the right. There is loss of villi with flattening of the mucosa*.
Comparison between normal mucosa and that of celiac disease
The small intestinal mucosa at high magnification shows marked chronic inflammation in celiac sprue. The enteropathy shown here has loss of crypts, increased mitotic activity, loss of brush border, and infiltration with lymphocytes and plasma cells.
Jejunal mucosa in celiac disease. It is totally flat and devoid of villi, but its height is not decreased.