Download Symptoms of Digestive System Diseases

Symptoms of Digestive System Diseases
Disorders that affect the organs involved in the intake, procession and elimination of food from the
body can range from relatively minor through to digestive system diseases which can be fatal.
To understand how the bodies digestive system and its parts work during an illness a detailed
description of the following disorders are explored:

Diarrhoea

Vomiting

Constipation

Wind

Ulcers
Common Digestive System Disorders
Diarrhoea
There are a number of factors that can cause this to happen in the digestive system. The first
being that the body is not absorbing the fluids that pass into the body. This inhibition of absorbtion
occurs when there is a rise in chloride ions (caused by a cholera toxin which stimulates their
secretion). To maintain a charge balance in the lumen (the space inside of the intesti), sodium is
brought in along with water.
Diarrhoea can also be caused by osmosis, non absorbed substances are somatically active in the
lumen and bring water into it. Diarrhoea can also be caused by hypermotility (the food moves
rapidly through the gastrointestinal tract) giving the body little time to absorb water and nutrients.
Vomiting
The vomit action is controlled by the ‘vomit centre’ of the brain (emetic centre). A chemoreceptor
located on the ventrical is sensitive to toxins and poisons in the blood stream, when the brain
senses a problem it initiates the vomiting. The windpipe closes and the abdominal wall and
diaphragm muscle suddenly tighten. The reason it tastes so bad is because a small coating of
stomach acid travels with the vomit as it comes up to the mouth.
Constipation
As the food moves through the colon, the colon absorbs the water. By the time the stool reaches
the rectum it is relatively solid because most of the water has been absorbed. Constipation
occurs when too much water is taken out or when the muscles in the colon contracts too slowly.
As a result the stools become hard and dry.
Wind
There are two main causes of wind. The first is swallowing air which could result from eating too
fast or even due to anxiety. The second occurs when the body doesn’t absorb certain food types
(starches, carbohydrates and fiber) in the small intestine due to an absence of certain enzymes.
The undigested food then travels down to the large intestine where symbiotic bacteria and yeasts
breaks it down. Hydrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and, in some people, methane are
the gases that are produced during this process. .
Gastric and duodenal Ulcers
A peptic ulcer is a sore in the lining of your stomach (gastric ulcer) or duodenum (the duodenal
ulcer). The bacteria, Helicobacter pylori, is believed to be one cause of the condition. The
stomach protects itself from the acidic digestive fluids by producing a mucus that coats the
stomach; producing bicarbonate which neutralizes the digestive fluids and by renewing the lining
in the stomach regularly. The bacteria can weaken the protective coating of the stomach, allowing
digestive juices to irritate the sensitive stomach lining.