Digestive System Diseases
Constipation
Constipation occurs when stool or waste material moves too slowly through the large intestine. Feces that stay in the bowel too long before elimination become hard and dry. This results in difficult, painful, and infrequent bowel movements. In most cases, constipation is harmless. It's not a disease, but it might be a symptom of a disease
Constipation occurs when stool or waste material moves too slowly through the large intestine. Feces that stay in the bowel too long before elimination become hard and dry. This results in difficult, painful, and infrequent bowel movements. In most cases, constipation is harmless. It's not a disease, but it might be a symptom of a disease
Gall Stones
Gallstones are crystal-like masses that typically form in the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a small organ located on the right side of the abdomen, just below the liver. The gallbladder's main function is to store bile (made by the liver) and secrete it into the small intestine to help digestion. Bile is made of water, cholesterol, fats, bile salts (natural detergents that break up fat), and a pigment called bilirubin. Gallstones form if the bile contains too much cholesterol, bile salts, or bilirubin.
There are two types of gallstones. Cholesterol stones contain mostly hardened cholesterol and account for approximately 80% of gallstones. Pigment stones are made of bilirubin and account for the other 20%. Gallstones can range in size from very small to as large as a golf ball. The gallbladder may develop any number and size of stones.
Hepatitis
The word hepatitis means an inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by one of many things — including a bacterial infection, liver injury caused by a toxin (poison), and even an attack on the liver by the body's own immune system. However, the condition is usually caused by a virus. The three most common hepatitis viruses are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C. Two other types of hepatitis virus, D and E, are rare in the United States.
Some hepatitis viruses can mutate. That can make them hard for for the body to fight because they change over time. In some cases, hepatitis B or C can destroy the liver. The patient then will need a liver transplant to survive, which is not always available or successful.
The word hepatitis means an inflammation of the liver. It can be caused by one of many things — including a bacterial infection, liver injury caused by a toxin (poison), and even an attack on the liver by the body's own immune system. However, the condition is usually caused by a virus. The three most common hepatitis viruses are hepatitis A, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C. Two other types of hepatitis virus, D and E, are rare in the United States.
Some hepatitis viruses can mutate. That can make them hard for for the body to fight because they change over time. In some cases, hepatitis B or C can destroy the liver. The patient then will need a liver transplant to survive, which is not always available or successful.
Heartburn
Almost everyone has heartburn sometimes. Heartburn is a painful burning feeling in your chest or throat. It happens when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus, the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach.
Almost everyone has heartburn sometimes. Heartburn is a painful burning feeling in your chest or throat. It happens when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus, the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach.
Mumps
Mumps is a disease caused by a virus that usually spreads through saliva and can infect many parts of the body, especially the parotid salivary glands. These glands, which produce saliva for the mouth, are found toward the back of each cheek, in the area between the ear and jaw. In cases of mumps, these glands typically swell and become painful. Mumps was common until the mumps vaccine was licensed in 1967.
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the thin membrane that lines the abdominal wall and covers the organs within. The inflammation is caused by a bacterial or fungal infection of this membrane. There are two major types of peritonitis. Primary peritonitis is caused by the spread of an infection from the blood and lymph nodes to the peritoneum. This type of peritonitis is rare -- less than 1% of all cases of peritonitis are primary. The more common type of peritonitis, called secondary peritonitis, is caused when the infection comes into the peritoneum from the gastrointestinal or biliary tract. Both cases of peritonitis are very serious and can be life threatening if not treated quickly.
Ulcers
A stomach ulcer (also called a peptic ulcer) is a small erosion (hole) in the gastrointestinal tract. The most common type, duodenal, occurs in the first 12 inches of small intestine beyond the stomach. Ulcers that form in the stomach are called gastric ulcers. The direct cause of peptic ulcers is the destruction of the gastric or intestinal mucosal lining of the stomach by hydrochloric acid, an acid normally present in the digestive juices of the stomach. Infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is thought to play an important role in causing both gastric and duodenal ulcers. Helicobacter pylori may be transmitted from person to person through contaminated food and water. Antibiotics are the most effective treatment for Helicobacter pylori peptic ulcers.
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver slowly deteriorates and malfunctions due to chronic injury. Scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue, partially blocking the flow of blood through the liver. Scarring also impairs the liver’s ability to
- control infections
- remove bacteria and toxins from the blood
- process nutrients, hormones, and drugs
- make proteins that regulate blood clotting
- produce bile to help absorb fats—including cholesterol—and fat-soluble vitamins
Hemorrhoids
The term hemorrhoids refers to a condition in which the veins around the anus or lower rectum are swollen and inflamed.
Hemorrhoids may result from straining to move stool. Other contributing factors include pregnancy, aging, chronic constipation or diarrhea, and anal intercourse.
Hemorrhoids are either inside the anus—internal—or under the skin around the anus—external.
<---- Different places that can have a hernia
Hernia
A hernia occurs when the contents of a body cavity bulge out of the area where they are normally contained. These contents, usually portions of intestine or abdominal fatty tissue, are enclosed in the thin membrane that naturally lines the inside of the cavity. Although the term hernia can be used for bulges in other areas, it most often is used to describe hernias of the lower torso (abdominal-wall hernias).
Hernias by themselves may be asymptomatic (produce no symptoms), but nearly all have a potential risk of having their blood supply cut off (becoming strangulated). If the blood supply is cut off at the hernia opening in the abdominal wall, it becomes a medical and surgical emergency as the tissue needs oxygen which is transported by the blood supply.
Photo of Umbilical hernia in a baby
Flatulence
Flatulence is the state of having excessive stomach or intestinal gas. This can result in uncomfortable feelings of bloating, as well as increased belching (burping) or passing of gas from the rectum.
Most people produce about 1-3 pints a day and pass gas about 14 times a day. Flatulence itself, although not life threatening, can definitely cause social embarrassment. This embarrassment is often the reason why you might seek medical help for excessive gas.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is loose, watery stools. A person with diarrhea typically passes stool more than three times a day. People with diarrhea may pass more than a quart of stool a day. Acute diarrhea is a common problem that usually lasts 1 or 2 days and goes away on its own without special treatment. Prolonged diarrhea persisting for more than 2 days may be a sign of a more serious problem and poses the risk of dehydration. Chronic diarrhea may be a feature of a chronic disease.
Diarrhea is loose, watery stools. A person with diarrhea typically passes stool more than three times a day. People with diarrhea may pass more than a quart of stool a day. Acute diarrhea is a common problem that usually lasts 1 or 2 days and goes away on its own without special treatment. Prolonged diarrhea persisting for more than 2 days may be a sign of a more serious problem and poses the risk of dehydration. Chronic diarrhea may be a feature of a chronic disease.
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a painful swelling and infection of the appendix.
Obstruction of the appendiceal lumen causes appendicitis. Mucus backs up in the appendiceal lumen, causing bacteria that normally live inside the appendix to multiply. As a result, the appendix swells and becomes infected. Sources of obstruction include
- feces, parasites, or growths that clog the appendiceal lumen
- enlarged lymph tissue in the wall of the appendix, caused by infection in the gastrointestinal tract or elsewhere in the body
- inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
- trauma to the abdomen
Jaundice
Jaundice is not a disease but rather a sign that can occur in many different diseases. Jaundice is the yellowish staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) that is caused by high levels in blood of the chemical bilirubin. The color of the skin and sclerae vary depending on the level of bilirubin. When the bilirubin level is mildly elevated, they are yellowish. When the bilirubin level is high, they tend to be brown.