Category: G

Reflux of gastric juice and/or duodenal contents (bile acids, pancreatic juice) into the distal esophagus, commonly due to incompetence of the lower esophageal sphincter. Gastric regurgitation is an extension of this process with entry of fluid into the pharynx or mouth. The involuntary regurgitation of stomach contents or surface acids into the throat, with heartburn;…

A subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of the physiology and diseases of the digestive system and related structures (esophagus, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas). The medical specialty concerned with the health and disease of the stomach and intestines. The study of the digestive system and its disorders. Medical specialty concerned with the study…

A hormone released after eating. Gastrin causes the stomach to produce more acid. Polypeptide hormone secreted by the stomach in response to food, which stimulates gastric and pancreatic secretion. A hormone which is released into the bloodstream from cells in the lower end of the stomach, stimulated by the presence of protein, and which in…

Primary function of the lungs; transfer of oxygen from inhaled air into the blood and of carbon dioxide from the blood into the lungs. The exchange of waste carbon dioxide in the blood for fresh oxygen: it takes place in the alveoli of the lungs. The process by which oxygen in the air is exchanged…

Air that comes from normal breakdown of food. The gases are passed out of the body through the rectum (flatus) or the mouth (burp). A substance such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide or air, which is neither solid nor fluid at ordinary temperatures and can expand infinitely. Gas which accumulates in the stomach or alimentary canal…

Clusters of multipolar neurons surrounded by a capsule of loosely organized connective tissue located outside the central nervous system. Colonies of neurons outside the brain and spinal cord sometimes acting to control local functions. These latter are little affected by normal stress conditions. (Example: the solar plexus, made of two separate ganglions.) Groups of nerve…

Very powerful and penetrating, high-energy electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength than that of x-rays. They are emitted by a decaying nucleus, usually between 0.01 and 10 MeV. They are also called nuclear x-rays. Radiation similar to X-rays but higher in energy output. Part of electromagnetic radiation with the smallest wavelengths and thus the most energy…

The pear-shaped organ that sits below the liver. Bile is concentrated and stored in the gallbladder. A saclike organ, attached to the liver, that collects bile and then discharges it into the intestine in response to a fatty meal. The sac located just beneath the liver which stores bile until needed. Pear-shaped organ, about 8…

Growing on limestone.