Villus height (μm) (top) and occludin expression (%) (bottom) in duodenal biopsies from patients with benign and malignant OJ and non-jaundiced patients with normal gastroscopy findings. For each patient, 10 randomly chosen mucosal regions were traced using an electromagnetic stylus and villus height measured. For each part of the villus a percentage value of occludin expression was obtained by dividing the number of occludin positive enterocytes by the total number of enterocytes. Values presented are mean (S.E.M.). *: P<0.05 (Student t test).