Vocabulary

Question 1

deglutition

Answer 1

the act of swallowing, especially food

Question 2

hematochezia (hemato-kisia)

Answer 2

memory aid: heme as blood and kinetics is to move, so movement of blood through digestive tract in poop
passage of bloody stools
normally lower GI bleed (after ligament of Treitz which separates duodenum from jejunum) , can be due to upper GI bleed if feces are moving fast

Question 3

hematemesis

Answer 3

vomiting of blood from upper GI tract, usually proximal to ligament of Treitz

Question 4

coffee-ground emesis

Answer 4

upper GI bleed or swallowed blood, but is generally slower, since stomach was able to convert hemoglobin (red) to hematin (brown)

Question 5

halitosis

Answer 5

bad-smelling breath, does not generally reflect GI disease

Question 6

flatus

Answer 6

expulsion of GI gas through the anus = farting

rarely pathologic

Question 7

dysphagia

Answer 7

difficulty swallowing or sense that food or liquid is sticking to the throat

Question 8

globus (globus hystericus)

Answer 8

sensation of a lump in the throat that is not associated with swallowing - anytime lump (not true dysphagia which is associated with swallowing only)

Question 9

diarrhea

Answer 9

abnormally frequent passage of POORLY FORMED or WATERY stools, >300 ml/24 hrs or 3+ movements/24hrs

Question 10

constipation

Answer 10

difficult or infrequent passage of stools

Question 11

obstipation

Answer 11

absence of both flatus and f the passage of bowel movements, a symptom of intestinal obstruction

Question 12

melena

Answer 12

tarry dark malodorous stool
typically from upper GI bleed, although small bowel or colon may give melena if stool moving slow
test what looks like melena for occult blood, stool can be dark from iron and bismuth intake (Pepto)

Question 13

steatorrhea

Answer 13

passage of fatty stools
soft, pale, greasy, malodorous, difficult to flush away
caused by malabsorption of fat, associated with pancreatic insufficiency, Celiac disease, etc

memory aid: ste(ve) has special fatty dia-rrhea

Question 14

ligament of Treitz

Answer 14

separates duodenum from jejunum (upper GI from lower GI)

Question 15

jaundice

Answer 15

yellowish staining of skin and other tissues with bile pigment. reliably correlated with hyperbilirubinemia. normally bilirubin is taken up by liver cells and excreted in bile. reasons: extra supply (body overproducing) or slow elimination : liver not able to take up bilirubin, liver not conjugating it down correctly, body not able to eliminate it fast enough

Question 16

proctitis

Answer 16

inflammation of anus and rectum

Question 17

colicky pain

Answer 17

severe pain that starts and ends suddenly

NOT PAIN that varies in intensity

Question 18

post-prandial

Answer 18

post meal (use more!)

Question 19

fistulae

Answer 19

abnormal connection between an organ, vessel or intestine and another structure, such as the skin
http://www.healthcentral.com/common/images/9/9328_15479_5.jpg

Question 20

dyspepsia

Answer 20

dys = difficult pepsia = digestion

together dyspepsia = indigestion

Question 21

gastroparesis

Answer 21

gastro = stomach paresis = partial paralysis

together gastroparesis = partial paralysis of stomach, food in stomach stays longer

Question 22

gynecomastia

Answer 22

male breast tissue

Question 23

peptic

Answer 23

peptic is an adjective that refers to any part of the body that normally has an acidic lumen, or is related to or promotes digestion - ex. peptic ulcer

Question 24

aborally

Answer 24

away from mouth -> direction of food digestion and chyme movement

Question 25

diverticulum

Answer 25

abnormal protrusion from a wall of a hollow organ

Question 26

diverticulosis

Answer 26

multiple diverticula

Question 27

diverticulitis

Answer 27

inflammation of diverticuli

Question 28

true (congenital) diverticuli

Answer 28

contain all layers of colonic wall (mucosa, submucosa, muscle, etc), often right sided (Meckel’s diverticulum)

Question 29

false (acquired) diverticuli

Answer 29

contain mucosa and submucosa only, often left sided (basically a tear in colonic muscle, with mucosal/submucosal colon protruding out of there)

Question 30

pseudomembranous colitis

Answer 30

pseudomembranous colitis (inflammation of the colon after antibiotic use, often associated with C.diff, diagnosed via sigmoidoscopy, sometimes has diffuse or nodular exudates on colon)

Question 31

metaplasia

Answer 31

Metaplasia (Greek: “change in form”) is the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with another mature differentiated cell type. Ex. Barrett’s esophageal squamous epithelial cells replaced with stomach columnar cells = metaplasia or change in cell type in esophagus.
Metaplasia not directly cancerous and is not dysplasia (yet)

Question 32

dysplasia

Answer 32

Epithelial dysplasia consists of an expansion of immature cells (such as cells of the ectoderm), with a corresponding decrease in the number and location of mature cells. Dysplasia is often indicative of an early neoplastic process.

Question 33

neoplasia

Answer 33

Neoplasm (from Ancient Greek νεο- neo- “new” and πλάσμα plasma “formation, creation”), also commonly referred to as tumour, is an abnormal growth of tissue, usually forming a mass. Could be benign, in situ or malignant (cancer).