From Canvas (Disease Vocabulary) - Unit 9: The Digestive System

Anorexia

Lack or loss of appetite, resulting in the inability to eat.

Aphagia

A condition characterized by the loss of the ability to swallow as a result of organic or psychologic causes.

Dysphagia

Difficulty in swallowing, commonly associated with obstructive or motor disorders of the esophagus.

Dyspepsia

A vague feeling of epigastric discomfort or uncomfortable feeling after eating that involves an uncomfortable feeling of fullness, heartburn, bloating, and nausea.

Eructation

The act of bringing up air from the stomach with a characteristic sound through the mouth, commonly known as belching.

Nausea

An unpleasant sensation often leading to the urge to vomit.

Vomit

To expel the contents of the stomach through the esophagus and out of the mouth.

Emesis

The material expelled from the stomach during vomiting, which is termed hematemesis when it consists of the vomiting of blood.

Heartburn

Temporary inflammation of the esophagus due to the reflux or backflow of stomach acid into the esophagus, which is often the result of an incompetence of the lower esophageal sphincter.

Flatus or Flatulence

Air or gas in the intestine that is passed through the rectum.

Constipation

A state in which an individual experience difficulty in passing stools, or an incomplete or infrequent passage of hard, dry stools; it is characterized by a decrease in the frequency of bowel movements and can be caused by low fluid intake, dehydration, lack of dietary fiber, inactivity, medicines, depression, or other health-related conditions.

Diarrhea

An abnormal, frequent passage of loose, watery feces or stools, which can be caused by an infection, IBS, colitis, lactose intolerance, or other factors.

Incontinence

The inability to voluntarily control bowel movements.

Hematochezia

The presence of blood in the feces, where bright red blood indicates active bleeding in the lower gastrointestinal system, distinct from melena, which is a dark, tar-like feces containing digested blood from bleeding in the esophagus or stomach.

Steatorrhea

A greater than normal amount of fat in the feces, characterized by frothy, foul-smelling fecal matter that floats.

Emaciation

Excessive leanness caused by disease or a lack of nutrition.

Hypoxia

A condition characterized by low oxygen levels that fall below the normal level.

Pruritus

An unpleasant sensation that causes itching.

Ascites

An abnormal accumulation of fluid within the peritoneal cavity, where the fluid contains large amounts of protein and electrolytes.

Jaundice or Iterus

A yellowish discoloration of the skin, mucous membranes, and sclera (whites) of the eyes caused by greater than normal amounts of bilirubin in the blood.

Hepatomegaly

An abnormal enlargement of the liver.

Stomatitis

An inflammation of the mouth.

Aphthous Stomatitis

Small, inflammatory, noninfectious ulcerated lesions occurring on the lips, tongue, and inside the cheeks of the mouth, which are also commonly called canker sores.

Gingivitis

An inflammation of the gums.

Gastritis

An acute or chronic inflammation of the stomach due to spicy foods, excess acid production, or a bacterial infection.

Achlorhydria

An abnormal condition characterized by the absence of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice, which can cause symptoms similar to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), impairs protein digestion, and leads to nutritional deficiencies through the malabsorption of basic electrolytes and vitamins.

Gastroenteritis

An acute inflammation or infection of the stomach and intestines typically due to a virus (like the flu) or bacterium (from contaminated food).

Enteritis

An inflammation of the small intestine.

Appendicitis

Inflammation of the vermiform appendix, which is usually an acute condition that can lead to rupture (perforation) with resultant inflammation of the peritoneum (peritonitis), and is surgically treated via an appendectomy.

Cholecystitis

Inflammation of the gallbladder that can be acute or chronic, where acute cholecystitis occurs when a gallstone blocks the cystic duct and chronic cholecystitis occurs when a gallstone partially blocks the cystic duct.

Cholelithiasis

The abnormal presence of one or more gallstones in the gallbladder.

Pancreatitis

An acute or chronic destructive inflammatory condition of the pancreas.

Peritonitis

Inflammation and infection of the peritoneum that occurs when an ulcer, diverticulum, or cancerous tumor eats through the wall of the stomach or intestines, or when an appendix ruptures.

Celiac Disease

Nutrient malabsorption due to damaged small bowel mucosa, which is also known as gluten enteropathy.

Diverticular Disease

An expression used to characterize both diverticulosis (non-inflamed outpouchings or herniations of the muscular layer of the intestines, typically in the sigmoid colon) and diverticulitis (the inflammation of these outpouchings).

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Chronic inflammation of various parts of the small and large intestines that includes two types: Crohn’s Disease (chronic digestive tract inflammation causing fever, cramping, diarrhea, weight loss, and anorexia) and Ulcerative Colitis (which specifically affects and causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon and rectum).

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Spastic Colon

A condition causing increased motility of the small or large intestinal wall, resulting in abdominal pain, flatulence, nausea, anorexia, and the trapping of gas throughout the intestines.

Dysentery

A term used to describe painful intestinal inflammation typically caused by ingesting water or food containing bacteria, protozoa, parasites, or chemical irritants, leaving a person with frequent stools that often contain blood.

Peptic Ulcers

A break in the continuity of the mucous membrane lining of the gastrointestinal tract (which can be gastric, duodenal, or perforated) resulting from hyperacidity or the bacterium Helicobacter pylori; they can be acute or chronic, singular or clustered, shallow or deep, and cause symptoms such as gnawing epigastric pain, heartburn, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, or a bloated feeling after eating.

Hemorrhoids

An unnaturally distended or swollen vein (varicosity) located in the distal rectum or anus.

Hernia

An irregular protrusion of tissue, an organ, or a portion of an organ through an abnormal break in the surrounding cavity’s muscular wall.

Ileus (paralytic ileus)

An obstruction of the intestine that may occur due to the twisting of the bowel, an absence of peristalsis, or the presence of adhesions or a tumor.

Volvulus

The rotation of loops of bowel causing a twisting on itself that results in an intestinal obstruction.

Colorectal Polyps

Small growths projecting from the mucous membrane of the colon or rectum, which may vary in size, can be benign or pre-cancerous, and are classified as either sessile (attached directly by a base) or pedunculated (attached by a stalk).

Cirrhosis

A chronic and degenerative disease of the liver causing permanent injury to the hepatocytes (functional cells of the liver) where fat infiltrates the liver lobules, causing the tissue covering the lobes to become fibrous, leading to the eventual deterioration of liver functions.

Hepatitis

An acute or chronic inflammation of the liver due to a viral or bacterial infection, drugs, alcohol, toxins, or parasites.

Stomach Cancer

A cancerous tumor of the stomach that usually begins in the glands found within the gastric mucosa.

Colorectal Cancer

The presence of a malignant neoplasm or cancerous tumor in the large intestine, also commonly referred to as colon cancer.

Liver Cancer

A malignant, cancerous tumor originating in the liver.

Pancreatic Cancer

A malignant, cancerous tumor originating in the pancreas.