Diseases Of The Gastrointestinal System Flashcards
Which accessory organs are included in the gastrointestinal system?
Liver, gallbladder, and pancreas
Bile is not an enzyme, but what?
Emulsifier
Is a protective mechanism, a response to the presence of an irritant or infection, a distention, or a blockage.
Vomiting
The frequent passage of watery stools and results when the contents of the small intestine nine are rushed through the large intestine.
Diarrhea
What causes diarrhea?
Anxiety and stress can trigger increase motility of the large intestine. Intestinal infections and food poisoning also can increase intestinal motility or impair water absorption.
The inability to eliminate feces from the colon and results when feces become hard and dry.
Constipation
What causes constipation?
Poor habits of elimination, dehydration, and low fiber diets may cause constipation.
Varicose veins in the lining of the rectum near the anus. Can be internal or external.
Hemorrhoids
What causes hemorrhoids?
Causes include heredity, poor dietary habits, inadequate fiber, overuse of laxatives, and the lack of exercise.
Refers to the widespread inflammation of oral tissue. May appear as patches, ulcers, redness, bleeding, or necrosis.
Oral inflammation, or stomatitis
What causes stomatitis?
Caused by a local infection of the mouth with bacteria, viruses, or fungi, or it may be a sign of a systemic infection. Spread in salivary and respiratory droplets.
What are the symptoms of stomatitis?
Pain makes eating, drinking, and swallowing difficult.
How do you treat stomatitis?
Aimed at reducing inflammation and pain with systemic anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications or topical anesthetics.
The most common form of oral cancer is squamous cell carcinoma. Most of these cancers appear on the floor of the mouth, tongue, and a lower lip. An aggressive form of the cancer occurs on the upper lip.
Cancer of the mouth
What causes cancer of the mouth?
Cause remains unknown, it is clear that tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and alcohol use are major risk factors, and it appears that use of alcohol and tobacco in combination increases the risk.
How do you treat cancer of the mouth?
Treatment for lip and tongue cancer includes surgical removal. Radiation therapy maybe used to treat local cancers of the floor of the mouth.
Occurs most commonly in men over 60 and is nearly always fatal. This narrows the esophageal lumen, causing the principal symptom, dysphagia. The obstruction causes vomiting, a bad taste in the mouth, and bad breath. Is accompanied by weight loss and inability to eat.
Cancer of the esophagus
What’s so bad about esophageal cancer?
The cancer frequently metastasizes, early, into adjacent organs. The prognosis for this cancer is poor.
Varicose vein’s that develop in the esophagus. Cirrhosis of the liver is the chief cause of this, which impairs blood flow through the liver and elevates pressure in the veins of the abdomen and elsewhere, including the esophagus.
Esophageal varices
What is the most serious danger of esophageal varices?
Hemorrhage
How do you treat esophageal varices?
Surgical bypass of a portal vein to systemic circulation may reduce pressure in the veins and stop bleeding, but will not repair liver damage.
Inflammation of the esophagus, causes burning chest pain, heartburn, which can resemble the pain of heart disease. Pain may follow eating or drinking, and some vomiting may occur.
Esophagitis
What causes esophagitis?
Gastroesophageal reflux disease, caused by incompetent cardiac sphincter
How do you treat GERD?
Non-irritating diet, antacids, and acid reducing medications. Frequent small meals are recommended.
The protrusion of part of the stomach through the diaphragm at the point where the esophagus joins the stomach. Caused by either a congenital defect of the diaphragm for increased intra-abdominal pressure associated with obesity.
Hiatal hernia
What are the symptoms and signs of a hiatal hernia?
Indigestion and heartburn may occur after eating; shortness of breath may also occur.
How do you treat hiatal hernia?
Aimed to reduce symptoms. Most effective treatment is cholinergic drugs which strengthen the cardiac sphincter and reduced reflux after eating. Patients should avoid spicy foods and caffeine and those obese should lose weight.
An inflammation of the stomach frequently accompanied by vomiting of blood. Caused by irritants like aspirin, excessive coughing, tobacco, alcohol, or infection.
Gastritis
How do you treat gastritis?
Includes avoiding the aforementioned irritants and treating infections. If bleeding is involved, surgery required.
A generative condition in which the stomach lining does not secrete intrinsic factor (helps absorb vitamin B12) and hydrochloric acid (aids in protein digestion)
Chronic atrophic gastritis
How do you treat chronic atrophic gastritis?
Underlying diseases or causes should be eliminated.
What causes chronic atrophic gastritis?
May be caused by stomach cancer, chronic alcoholism, or chronic exposure to certain irritants like alcohol, aspirin, and certain foods. Degeneration of stomach lining causes no production of HCL and its intrinsic factor.
Ulcers of the stomach
Peptic ulcers
What causes peptic ulcers?
Has three main causes, including infection, use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and an inherited disorder of acid hypersecretion. Irritated and inflamed mucous membranes maybe come necrotic, leaving a hole.
What is a serious ulcer complication where it perforates, or breaks through the intestinal orgastic wall?
Perforating ulcer
What are the symptoms and signs of peptic ulcer?
Heartburn and indigestion, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and blood in the stools.
An inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Symptoms include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Maybe caused by bacterial or viral infection, chemical toxins, lactose intolerance, or other food allergy.
Gastroenteritis
How do you treat a peptic ulcer?
Acid reducers and antacids work well. However, antibiotic therapy in combination with acid reducers is required to eradicate bacteria.
How do you treat gastroenteritis?
Treatment replaces fluid and nutritional requirements, including the loss of salts. Anti-spasmodic medications control vomiting and diarrhea.
Food contaminated with human or animal feces may carry microorganisms that cause gastroenteritis or
Food poisoning
How do you prevent food poisoning?
Cook meat thoroughly and practice good hygiene in the kitchen.
May be a large mass projecting into the lumen of the stomach, or it may invade the stomach wall, causing it to sicken. As the tumor grows, the lumen narrows to the point of obstruction. Remainder of stomach becomes extremely dilated and pain results from pressure on nerve endings.
Cancer of the stomach
What is dangerous about cancer of the stomach?
Because pain is not an early sign, carcinoma of the stomach may be very advanced before it is detected. It may spread to the liver and surrounding organs through the lymph and blood vessels.
What are the symptoms and signs of cancer of the stomach?
Loss of appetite, heartburn, and general stomach distress. Blood maybe vomited or appears in the feces. Pernicious anemia generally accompanies this because the gastric mucosal cells to secrete intrinsic factor.
What causes cancer of the stomach?
Etiology is not known, but research suggests an association with consumption of preserved, salted, cured foods and low diets of fresh fruit and vegetables.
An acute and painful inflammation of the appendix. Can occur at any age, more common for males before puberty to age 25.
Appendicitis
What causes appendicitis?
Obstruction with fecal material and infections cause the appendix to become swollen, red, and covered with an inflammatory exudate. Is it possible for gangrene to develop.