Digestive tract disorders Flashcards
what does the digestive tract include?
- oral cavity
- oesophagus
- small intestine
- liver
- exocrine pancreas
- large intestine
- rectum and anus
what are the primary functions of the GI tract?
- prehension of food and water
- mastication
- salivation
- swallowing
- digestion
- absorption of nutrients
- maintenance of fluids
- evacuation of waste
what is vomiting?
the ejection of all or part of the stomach contents through the mouth which occurs hours after eating and contains digested food (active)
what is regurgitation?
occurs suddenly with no effort from patient and contains undigested food (passive)
what is primary vomiting?
disease. of stomach or small intestine
- gastritis
- ulceration
- foreign body
what is secondary vomiting?
systemic diseases
- pancreatitis
- pyometra
- ketoacidosis
what is diarrhoea?
excessive and frequent evacuation of watery faeces
- acute/chronic
- small intestine/large intestine/both
what is constipation?
infrequent or difficult passage of faeces
what are some causes of constipation?
- dietary issues
- prostatic hypertrophy
- dehydration
- lack of exercise
what is a megacolon?
- large intestine is consistently stretched
what is a cause of a megacolon?
- persistent constipation
- loss of normal nerve function
- idiopathic
what is a megaoesophagus?
- hypomotility and dilation of the oesophagus
what is malabsorption?
-malabsorption is a failure of digestion anywhere within the GI tract and is caused by exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or small intestinal disease
what is maldigestion?
impaired nutrient digestion within the intestinal lumen or at the brush border
what is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency?
- insufficient pancreatic enzymes are produced to enable digestion of dietary lipids
what are the primary cells of the liver called?
hepatocytes
what are some functions of the liver?
- store ADEK
- production of bile and urea
- protein metabolism
- carbohydrate metabolism
what is the liver responsible for?
converting ammonia into urea
what is cirrhosis?
end stage of many chronic liver diseases
what is a portosystemic shunt?
congenital abnormality where the blood supply by-passes the liver
what is cholangiohepatitis?
- inflammation of the billiary system and liver
- ascending infection from the gut through the bile duct
what is neutrophilic
cholangiohepatitis?
- ascending infection of the billiary tract (from intestine)
what is lympocytic cholangiohepatitis?
immune mediated
what is hepatic lipidosis?
fats infiltrate the liver, causing widespread damage and dysfunction
what is the portal vein?
large vein that collects blood from the GI system, pancreas, and spleen and carries it to the liver where toxins are removed
when does a liver shunt occur?
when an abnormal connection consists or forms between the portal vein and another vein allowing blood to bypass or shunt around the liver
