Background: Alterations in intestinal barrier function may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of chronic intestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The intestinal epithelium functions as a barrier to the luminal contents, thereby preventing undesirable solutes, micro-organisms and other luminal antigens from entering the body. Confocal endomicroscopy has recently been shown that increased epithelial cell shedding may contribute to increased intestinal permeability, at least locally. In our study, we want to determine the contribution of epithelial cell shedding to intestinal permeability in vivo in patients with inflammatory bowel disease compared to controls.