Intestinal obstruction Health Dictionary

Narrowing or blockage of the respiratory passages. The obstruction may be due to a foreign body, such as a piece of food, that becomes lodged in part of the upper airway and may result in choking. Certain disorders, such as diphtheria and lung cancer, can cause obstruction. Additionally, spasm of the muscular walls of the airway, as occurs in bronchospasm (a feature of asthma), results in breathing difficulty.... airway obstruction

See under INTESTINE, DISEASES OF.... obstruction of the bowels

See barium X-ray examinations.... intestinal imaging

See Whipple’s disease.... intestinal lipodystrophy

A partial or complete blockage of the small or large intestine. Causes include a strangulated hernia; stenosis (narrowing) of the intestine, often due to cancer in the intestine; intestinal atresia; adhesions; volvulus; and intussusception. Intestinal obstruction also occurs in diseases that affect the intestinal wall, such as Crohn’s disease. In less common cases, internal blockage of the intestinal canal is caused by impacted food, faecal impaction, gallstones, or an object that has been accidentally swallowed.

A blockage in the small intestine usually causes intermittent cramp-like pain in the centre of the abdomen with increasingly frequent bouts of vomiting and failure to pass wind or faeces. An obstruction in the large intestine causes pain, distension of the abdomen, and failure to pass wind or faeces.

Treatments involve emptying the stomach via a nasogastric tube and replacing lost fluids through an intravenous drip In some cases, this will be sufficient to correct the problem. However, in many cases, surgery to deal with the cause of the blockage is necessary.... intestine, obstruction of

Blockage of the nasal passage on 1 or both sides of the nose.

The most common cause of nasal obstruction is inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the passage (see nasal congestion).

Other causes include deviation of the nasal septum, nasal polyps, a haematoma (a collection of clotted blood) usually caused by injury, and, rarely, a cancerous tumour.

In children, enlargement of the adenoids is the most common cause of nasal obstruction.... nasal obstruction

bacteria normally present in the intestinal tract. Some are responsible for the synthesis of *vitamin K. By producing a highly acidic environment in the intestine they may also prevent infection by pathogenic bacteria that cannot tolerate such conditions.... intestinal flora

see succus entericus.... intestinal juice

(Ogilvie’s syndrome) n. functional impairment of intestinal peristalsis without evidence of an obstructing lesion (acute colonic pseudo-obstruction). It presents with vomiting, marked abdominal distension, and constipation. It commonly occurs in hospitalized patients with serious illness, probably caused by abnormalities in colonic autonomic regulation and often associated with trauma, sepsis, the postoperative state following abdominal, pelvic, or orthopaedic surgery, or cardiac dysfunction (heart failure, myocardial infarction). Management is usually conservative and involves treatment of the underlying condition, the ‘drip and suck’ approach (see ileus), decompression of the colon, and prokinetic agents (such as neostigmine). Surgery is required when the conservative approach fails or in cases of perforation.... pseudo-obstruction

colonization of the small intestine with excessive concentrations of bacteria. Patients experience nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and symptoms of *malabsorption. Diagnosis is made by identifying bacteria in cultures of small bowel aspirates obtained during endoscopy or by glucose hydrogen breath testing, in which a high concentration of hydrogen in the breath after swallowing glucose indicates bacterial overgrowth. Risk factors include previous abdominal surgery, motility disorders (such as systemic sclerosis), anatomical disruption (such as diverticula, strictures, adhesions, or fistulae), diabetes mellitus, coeliac disease, and Crohn’s disease. Management involves treatment of the underlying condition, nutritional support, and cyclical antibiotics.... small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

see VIP.... vasoactive intestinal peptide