GI Vocab
Terms
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- AEROPHAGIA
- Swallowing air
- Anorexia
- Loss of appetite. Seen in depression, malaise, fevers & illnesses (stomach, alcoholism & drug addiction)
- Ascites
- Abnormal accumulation offluid in peritoneal cavity. Can occur with CHF, cirrhosis of liver, malignancies, infections with in peritoneum, depletion of plasma proteins etc.
- Borborygmus
- Gurgling, splashing sound normally heard over the large intestine. It's absence may indicate paralytic ileus or obstruction of bowels due to torsion, volvulus, or strangulated hernia
- Diastasis recti
- Separation of two halves of rectus abdominus in the middle at the linea alba. Benign when it occurs in pregnant women
- Dysphagia
- Inability to swallow or difficulty in swallowing
- Dysuria
- Painful or difficult urination. May be caused by concentrated acid in urine.
- Friction rub
- Distinct sound heard wen two dry surfaces are rubbed together. Sound is loud enough to be auscultated and felt
- Grey Turner's Sign
- Blue discoloration of skin around flanks or umbiicus in patient with hemorrhagic pancreatitis
- Guarding
- Body defense mechanism to prevent movement of an injured part (ie, abdominal mm spasms) when examiner attempts to palpate inflamed areas or organs in abdominal cavity
- Hematemesis
- Vomitting blood. Implies problem is in upper GI tract
- Hematochezia
- Bright red blood in stool
- Hematuria
- Blood in urine
- Jaundice/icterus
- Yellowing of body tissues and fluids as result of excessive levels of bilirubin in blood
- Kehr's Sign
- Pain that radiates into the shoulder during respiration. Points to diaphragmatic or peridiaphragmatic lesion
- Melena
- Black tarry stool caused by digestion of blood in GI tract. Common in newborns and in adults with GI bleeding from esophagus, stomach or proximal small intestine
- Murphy's Sign
- Pain on deep inspiratin when an inflamed gallbladder is palpated by pressing fingers under rib cage
- Nocturia
- Excessive or frequent urination after going to bed. Caused by excessive fluid intake, CHF, uncontrolled DM, UTIs, prostate diseases, impaired renal function, or useof diuretics
- Obstipation
- Severe obstruction to normal flow of feces thru the bowels
- Obturator Sign
- Pain on inward rotation of hip. Maneuver stretches obturator internus mm. If positive, may indicate acute appendicitis
- Paralytic Ileus
- Paralysis of intestinal smooth mm with distention of the abdomen. Nausea, vomitting, abdominal pain & inability to pass stool or gas. May occur after abdominal surgery, peritonitis or due to drugs
- Peristalsis
- Progressive wavelike movement thru hollow tubes in the body (ie, esophagus, intestines, rectum)
- Peutz-Jegher Syndrome
- An inherited d/o characterizedby presence of polyps of small intestine and melanin pigmentation of lips, mucosa, fingers & toes. Anemia due to bleeding from intestinal polyps is common finding
- Pica
- An eating d/o manifested by craving material not normally considered food (ie, clay, ashes, crayons, plaster, metal, cigarette butts, etc. Assoc. with iron-deficiency anemia
- Polyuria
- Excessive secretion of urine (several liters/day). Urine is virtually colorless. Occurs in diabetics, chronic nephritis, hyperthyroidism, edema such as with CHF and with excessive hydration
- Psoas Sign
- Test is done with patient in supine with knees extended and hip flexed against resistance. If pain in abdomen, then consider appendicitis.
- Rebound Tenderness
- If pain is felt when pressure is released on abdomen,then consider peritoneal inflammation
- Rice Water Stool
- Watery fluid containing whitish floccuil, discharged from bowel in cholera and other serious cases of diarrhea
- Rovsing's Sign
- Pain referred to McBurney's point on palpation of the left lower abdomen. Suggests peritoneal irritation in appendicitis
- Satiety
- Being full to satisfaction (ie, with food)
- Scratch Test
- Placement of an appropriate dilution of test material suspected of being an allergan, in a lightly scratched area of skin. A wheal will develop within 15 min. if an allergan. Used to detect IgE antibodies in patients with a h/o of PCN allergy
- Sister Mary Joseph's nodule
- A hard, periumbilical lymph node sometimes present when pelvic GI tumors have metastasized
- Situs inversus
- The abnormal relation and displacement of viscera to the opposite side of the body
- Steatorrhea
- Increased secretion of fat from the sebaceous glands of the skin. Fatty stools as seen in malabsorption syndromes
- Striae
- A line or band of tissue that's elevated above or depressed below surrounding tissue, differing in color and texture.
- Striae Atrophica
- A fine pinkish-white or gray line, usually 14cm long, seen in parts of the body where the skin has been stretched. Commonly found on thighs, abdomen, and breasts of women who have been pregnant or on persons whose skin has been stretched by obesity, tumor, edema, or adrenocortical hormones for a prolonged time
- Tenesmus
- Spasmodic contraction of anal or bladder sphincter with pain and persistent desire to empty bowel or bladder with ineffectual, involuntary straining efforts
- Venous Hum
- A murmur heard on auscultation over the larger veins of the neck