cobalamin is bound to intrinsic factor. Pancreatic insufficiency may lead to cobalamin deficiency. Lack of intrinsic factor is the commonest cause of cobalamin deficiency; very rarely, aberrant forms of intrinsic factor are produced, but the clinical syndrome is similar. Gram-negative anaerobe bacteria bind the cobalamin-intrinsic factor complex, and bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine diminishes cobalamin resorption. Parasitic infections with fish tape-worm and Giardia lamblia are also associated with cobalamin malabsorption. The cobalamin-intrinsic factor complex binds to the ileal receptors in the terminal ileum.