Examination of the abdominal system
Tracy Lapworth, Deborah Cook in Clinical Assessment, 2022
The gastrointestinal system includes the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. The accessory organs include the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and spleen.An ABCDE assessment (Resuscitation Council (UK), 2021) may be needed before examination continues; the patient may be in acute abdominal pain so give analgesia at the earliest opportunity. It is important to rule out an emergency condition and assessment should focus on identifying patients with an acute abdomen that need urgent surgical referral and intervention, e.g. abdominal sepsis/peritonitis/intestinal obstruction and pancreatitisBe aware of verbal and non-verbal cues, e.g. grimacing and guardingInvestigate the problem with a holistic health history; refer to Table 1.6Associated symptoms for exploration: pain, relationship to food, nausea and/or vomiting (describe vomit), change in bowel habit, urinary changes, dysphagia, weight loss or gain, any change in appetite, change in micturition, risk of pregnancyBe aware of red flag markers: change in bowel habit, blood in stools, urine or vomit, past history of cancer
The Digestive (Gastrointestinal) System and Its Disorders
Walter F. Stanaszek, Mary J. Stanaszek, Robert J. Holt, Steven Strauss in Understanding Medical Terms, 2020
Nausea and vomiting generally occur together and can reflect the presence of acute abdominal emergencies, chronic indigestion, and acute systemic infections, as well as many diseases involving other body systems. They are often associated with abdominal pain. The medical term for vomiting is emesis.Colic can refer to spasmodic pains in the abdomen, to the paroxysms of pain seen in young infants, or to a variety of pain or cramping episodes due to a number of causes. Anorexia (loss of desire to eat) is a primary symptom in a number of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. Diverticula or pouches can occur along the intestinal wall. Meckel's diverticulum refers to such an area on the ileum that can produce ulceration and bleeding. Dlverticislosls denotes the presence of multiple sites; diverticulitis specifically describes inflammation.
Introduction
Paul Ong, Rachel Skittrall in Gastrointestinal Nursing, 2017
Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract make up some of the most common illnesses experienced across the lifespan affecting individuals in infancy, childhood and adulthood. Ingestion, transportation, digestion and absorption can be affected by a number of disorders that relate to factors such as structural changes, inflammatory disorders, malabsorption and motility disorders. Any changes to the structure and function of the specialised areas of the gastrointestinal tract can also have an impact on the accessory organs that assist digestion. This book will explore normal anatomy and physiology and look at the changes associated with each stage of the lifespan from the developing embryo to old age. These developmental elements will be considered at the point where the general anatomy, physiology and function are explored for each section of the gastrointestinal tract and related accessory organs. An understanding of anatomy and physiology through the lifespan is essential to the understanding of disorders associated with the digestive system.
The Effects of Perioperative Probiotics on Postoperative Gastrointestinal Function in Patients with Brain Tumors: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2023
Mengyang Jiang, Xiaoyu Zhang, Yiqiang Zhang, Yang Liu, Ran Geng, Haixia Liu, Yongxing Sun, Baoguo Wang
The primary functions of the gastrointestinal tract are motility, secretion, absorption, and serving as a barrier. Nervous system disorders affecting gastrointestinal function are characterized primarily by abnormalities in motility rather than secretion (6). Gastrointestinal motility is regulated at multiple levels, including the central and enteric nervous systems as well as the microbiome (26,27). Surgery-induced stress and inflammatory responses activate the sympathetic and enteric nervous systems, leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction and thus disturbing motility and transit (28). This process involves the immune system, inflammatory cells, reactive enteric glia, neurons, smooth muscle cells, epithelial cells, and the microbiome in the intestinal lumen (8). Postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction can not only cause short-term complications, but may also lead to long-term complications after inflammation subsides (29). The incidence of postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction in adults with neurological diseases is more than twice that for individuals with non-neurological diseases (2).
Chronic abdominal pain in irritable bowel syndrome – current and future therapies
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2018
Anna Zielińska, Maciej Sałaga, Marcin Włodarczyk, Jakub Fichna
Irritable bowel syndrome is the most prevalent functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract and in most cases it is being characterized by chronically recurring visceral pain or discomfort. Functional abdominal pain – the one in absence of an organic, metabolic, or systemic cause likely to explain the symptoms – is intertwined not only with pathophysiologic, but also psychological abnormalities, and remains a challenging problem for primary care physicians, gastroenterologists and pain specialists [1,8,9]. The syndrome itself is not related to increased mortality, but it’s severity varies greatly between the patients and has a significant impact on their lives and may profoundly impair quality of life. Additionally, it is costly to society, as it causes considerable direct illness-related costs and indirect costs owing to work absenteeism. What is more, it constitutes a major part of physicians’ work load [4,5].
Identification of mite-specific eosinophils in the colon of patients with ulcerative colitis
Published in Autoimmunity, 2022
Shu-Wang Peng, Jiang-Ming Sheng, Bai-Sui Feng, Ke-Ping Peng, Gui-Xiang Tian, Cheng-Bai Liang, Ming-Hui Liu, Hai-Qing Xie, Qing Shu, Yan Li, Ping-Chang Yang
Previous reports indicate that HDM is detected in the intestinal samples [3]. Our recent studies also found that HDM-derived enolase protein induced neutrophilic inflammation in the mouse intestine [19]. The present data show that HDM also can be detected in the stool of both UC patients and NC subjects. The gastrointestinal tract is known to have various digestive enzymes. The event that HDM isolated from stool samples can be detected by Western blotting and ELISA demonstrate the bio activity of HDM. There are numerous immune cells in the colon tract. HDM can come into contact with immune cells to induce immune inflammation in the colon [3,19,20]. This reasoning is backed up by current data. By exposing to HDM in the culture or in the colon, Eos were activated by HDM, and released inflammatory mediators, MBP and ECP. As such, future studies may focus on the removal of HDM from the intestinal tract to reduce HDM-related inflammation in local tissues. This may be beneficial for patients sensitized to HDM, or/and prevent the development of HDM-specific immune inflammation [20].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Digestive System
- Mouth
- Digestion
- Esophagus
- Small Intestine
- Stomach
- Anus
- Nutrient
- Feces
- Large Intestine