Lower GI
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19 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 borborygmi | The rumbling sound produced by the movement of gas through the intestines of animals. The word borborygmus is an onomatopoeia for this rumbling. |
| colostomy | Procedure that brings the end of the large intestine through the abdominal wall. Stools moving through the intestine drain into a bag attached to the abdomen. |
| Crohn's disease | A form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It usually affects the intestines, but may occur anywhere from the mouth to the end of the rectum (anus). |
| diverticulitis | Swelling (inflammation) of an abnormal pouch (diverticulum) in the intestinal wall. These pouches are usually found in the large intestine. The presence of the pouches themselves is called diverticulosis. |
| diverticulosis | A condition that develops when pouches (diverticula) form in the wall of the colon. These pouches do not cause symptoms. Diverticulosis may not be discovered unless symptoms develop, such as in painful diverticular disease or in diverticulitis. |
| fistula | An abnormal connection between an organ, vessel, or intestine and another structure. Fistulas are usually the result of injury or surgery. It can also result from infection or inflammation. |
| hemorrhoids | Painful, swollen veins in the lower portion of the rectum or anus. |
| ileostomy | An opening into the ileum, part of the small intestine, from the outside of the body. An ileostomy provides a new path for waste material to leave the body after part of the intestine has been removed. |
| inflammatory bowel disease | The causes of IBD are unknown. Symptoms include abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and fever. The goal of IBD treatment is to suppress inflammation. IBD includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which causes inflammation in the digestive tract. |
| irritable bowel syndrome | A disorder of the lower intestinal tract. It involves abdominal pain and abnormal bowel movements. Emotional stress often makes the symptoms worse. (Different thatn IBD) |
| McBurney's point | McBurney's point is the most tender area of the abdomen of patients in the early stage of appendicitis. |
| mesentery | A fold of tissue which attaches organs to the body wall. Usually refers to the small bowel mesentery which anchors the small intestine to the back of the abdominal wall. Blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics branch through the mesentery to supply the intestine. |
| omentum | A sheet of fat that is covered by peritoneum. The greater omentum is attached to the bottom edge of the stomach, and hangs down in front of the intestines. The lesser omentum is attached to the top edge of the stomach, and extends to the undersurface of the liver. |
| peritonitis | An inflammation (irritation) of the peritoneum, the tissue that lines the wall of the abdomen and covers the abdominal organs. |
| polyps | An abnormal growth of tissue projecting from a mucous membrane. If it is attached to the surface by a narrow elongated stalk = pedunculated. No stalk = sessile. Polyps are commonly found in the colon, stomach, nose, sinus(es), urinary bladder and uterus. |
| steatorrhea | Excess fat in feces. |
| tenesmus | Feeling or urge to defecate but without needing to pass stool. |
| toxic megacolon | A life-threatening complication of other intestinal conditions that causes rapid widening (dilation) of part of the large intestine within one to a few days. |
| ulcerative colitis | A type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the large intestine (colon) and rectum. |
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