Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

The Gastrointestinal System 5
Lifestyle and dietary habits can affect this balance.
To help maintain this balance and preserve gastrointestinal
health, gastroenterologists recommend
• Eating foods high in fiber such as fruits, vegetables,
and whole grains and whole grain products.
High-fiber foods move quickly through
the gastrointestinal tract and result in residual
bulk that helps keep stools soft, reducing the
risk for conditions such as CONSTIPATION and
HEMORRHOIDS.
• Reducing consumption of foods high in fats.
Fats require more steps to digest, slowing
movement through the gastrointestinal tract.
Saturated (animal) fats are associated with an
increased risk for COLORECTAL CANCER.
• Limiting consumption of products that contain
CAFFEINE or ALCOHOL, which are frequent causes
of DIARRHEA.
• Drinking plenty of noncaffeinated and nonalcoholic
fluids throughout the day.
• Chewing food thoroughly before swallowing
and remaining upright after eating.
Gastrointestinal symptoms are the second-leading
reason for visits to the doctor, with diarrhea
being the most common of these symptoms. Many
gastrointestinal ailments are minor, such as INFEC-
TION (GASTRITIS, GASTROENTERITIS, and COLITIS) and
irritations such as DYSPEPSIA. The close proximity of
the lower esophagus and the bottom of the heart
gives rise to the term “heartburn,” an apt descriptor
for the burning sensation that occurs when
gastric contents bubble back up into the esophagus.
GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISORDER (GERD)
develops when such backwash becomes chronic.
Chronic gastrointestinal conditions such as
CELIAC DISEASE, DIVERTICULAR DISEASE, IRRITABLE
BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS), and INFLAMMATORY BOWEL
DISEASE (IBD) can significantly interfere with QUAL-
ITY OF LIFE. People who have conditions such as
these must work closely with their doctors to
develop effective treatment approaches and manage
their lifestyles in ways that minimize symptoms
and support gastrointestinal health.
Cancers are among the most serious gastrointestinal
conditions and can involve any organ or
structure of the gastrointestinal system. Though
colorectal cancer remains the second-leading
cause of deaths due to cancer in the United States,
it also offers great opportunity for prevention as
well as early detection and treatment. Doctors
now know that detecting and removing intestinal
polyps, fleshy growths that develop in the colon’s
mucosa, via screening COLONOSCOPY eliminates the
foundation for more than 90 percent of colorectal
cancers.
ACHALASIA
ANAL FISSURE
BARRETT’S ESOPHAGUS
BILIARY ATRESIA
CELIAC DISEASE
COLITIS
CONSTIPATION
CYCLIC VOMITING SYNDROME
ESOPHAGEAL ATRESIA
ESOPHAGEAL SPASM
ESOPHAGITIS
FECAL IMPACTION
FECAL INCONTINENCE
GASTRITIS
GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX
DISORDER (GERD)
GASTROPARESIS
HEPATIC ABSCESS
HEPATITIS
HIATAL HERNIA
HIRSCHSPRUNG’S DISEASE
INTESTINAL ADHESIONS
INTESTINAL POLYP
LIVER CANCER
LIVER FAILURE
PANCREATIC CANCER
PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE
PRIMARY BILIARY CIRRHOSIS
PROCTITIS
RAPID GASTRIC EMPTYING
RECTAL PROLAPSE
STEATOHEPATITIS
TOXIC MEGACOLON
WHIPPLE’S DISEASE
HEALTH CONDITIONS OF
THE GASTROINTESTINAL SYSTEM
ANAL ATRESIA
APPENDICITIS
BEZOAR
BOWEL ATRESIA
CIRRHOSIS
COLORECTAL CANCER
Crohn’s disease
DIARRHEA
ESOPHAGEAL CANCER
ESOPHAGEAL VARICES
FAMILIAL ADENOMATOUS
POLYPOSIS (FAP)
GALLBLADDER DISEASE
GASTROENTERITIS
GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING
HEMORRHOIDS
HEPATIC CYST
HEREDITARY NONPOLYPOSIS
COLORECTAL CANCER (HNPCC)
ILEUS
INFLAMMATORY BOWEL
DISEASE (IBD)
INTUSSUSCEPTION
LIVER DISEASE OF ALCOHOLISM
MALABSORPTION
PANCREATITIS
PERITONITIS
PRIMARY SCLEROSING
CHOLIANGITIS
RECTAL FISTULA
SHORT BOWEL SYNDROME
STOMACH CANCER
ulcerative colitis
ZOLLINGER-ELLISON SYNDROME