Marsh's legacy and persistency in subjective interpretation of coeliac disease's histology.

Abstract

1 This issue of GHFBB is dedicated to Professor Michael N Marsh who passed away on 12 July 2021. Professor Marsh was a pioneering figure in basic immune-histopathology of small intestine, in particular coeliac disease (CeD). As Professor Ensari highlighted, great minds deserve to be acknowledged while still alive though their true recognition usually takes place afterwards (1). Even though he personally may not have received the attention he deserved during his lifetime, but his name become inseparable from CeD as reflected in most of publications on CeD since late 1960s (1). He defined the gluten induced inflammation and the spectrum of enteropathy in distinctive phenotypes. His pioneering work funded the platform of quantitative histology (2-5) by development of a computerized methodology for accurate measurement of mucosal specimens and reporting histology in clinical practice. This was an enormous advance in understanding the damaged intestinal tissues seen in gluten sensitivity – both in comparison with “normal” tissues, and during the progress of these abnormal specimens – from