wet beriberi

pathology

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July 23, 2026

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Wet beriberi is a severe form of beriberi, a nutritional disorder caused by a deficiency in thiamin (vitamin B1). This deficiency impairs the nerves and heart. Wet beriberi is characterized by edema, which is an overabundance of fluid in the tissues, largely resulting from cardiac failure and poor circulation. In infants, it can lead to rapidly progressive heart failure. Thiamin is crucial for carbohydrate metabolism, and its absence causes pyruvic and lactic acids to accumulate, leading to neurological and cardiac issues. The condition can be treated with thiamin, though nerve damage may be irreversible in severe cases.1

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beriberi
In wet beriberi, a more acute form, there is edema (overabundance of fluid in the tissues) resulting largely from cardiac failure and poor circulation. In infants breast-fed by mothers who are deficient in thiamin, beriberi may lead to rapidly progressive heart failure.
Read More
In wet beriberi, a more acute form, there is edema (overabundance of fluid in the tissues) resulting largely from cardiac failure and poor circulation. In infants breast-fed by mothers who are deficient in thiamin, beriberi may lead to rapidly progressive heart failure.
Read More

nutritional disease
Thiamin
In wet beriberi there is edema and the possibility of an enlarged heart and heart failure. Thiamin deficiency can also occur in populations eating large quantities of raw fish harbouring intestinal microbes that contain the enzyme thiaminase. In the developed world, thiamin deficiency is linked primarily…
Read More
In wet beriberi there is edema and the possibility of an enlarged heart and heart failure. Thiamin deficiency can also occur in populations eating large quantities of raw fish harbouring intestinal microbes that contain the enzyme thiaminase. In the developed world, thiamin deficiency is linked primarily…
Read More