The gastrointestinal tract is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and other animals, including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Food taken in through the mouth is digested to extract nutrients and absorb energy, and the waste expelled at the anus as feces. Gastrointestinal is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the stomach and intestines.
The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the pancreatic duct to aid in digestion. The small intestine is about 18 feet long and folds many times to fit in the abdomen. Although it is longer than the large intestine, it is called the small intestine because it is narrower in diameter.
Hirschsprung's disease is a birth defect in which nerves are missing from parts of the intestine. The most prominent symptom is constipation. Other symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and slow growth. Symptoms usually become apparent in the first two months of life. Complications may include enterocolitis, megacolon, bowel obstruction and intestinal perforation.
In medicine, the fecal fat test is a diagnostic test for fat malabsorption conditions, which lead to excess fat in the feces (steatorrhea).
Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different gastric bypass procedures (GBP). Any GBP leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and physical response to food.
Berdon syndrome, also called Megacystis-microcolon-intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome, is an autosomal recessive fatal genetic disorder affecting newborns. In a 2011 study of 227 children with the syndrome, "the oldest survivor [was] 24 years old." The Ann Arbor News reported a five year old survivor at the end of 2015.
Short bowel syndrome is a rare malabsorption disorder caused by a lack of functional small intestine. The primary symptom is diarrhea, which can result in dehydration, malnutrition, and weight loss. Other symptoms may include bloating, heartburn, feeling tired, lactose intolerance, and foul-smelling stool. Complications can include anemia and kidney stones.
Ileostomy is a stoma constructed by bringing the end or loop of small intestine out onto the surface of the skin, or the surgical procedure which creates this opening. Intestinal waste passes out of the ileostomy and is collected in an external ostomy system which is placed next to the opening. Ileostomies are usually sited above the groin on the right hand side of the abdomen.
In medicine, the ileal pouch–anal anastomosis (IPAA), also known as an ileo-anal pouch, restorative proctocolectomy, ileal-anal pullthrough, or sometimes referred to as a j-pouch, s-pouch, w-pouch or an internal pouch, is an anastomosis of the ileum to the anus, bypassing the former site of the colon in cases where the colon has been removed. It retains or restores functionality of the anus, with stools passed under voluntary control of the patient, preventing fecal incontinence and serving as an alternative to ileostomy. The pouch component is a surgically constructed intestinal reservoir; usually situated near where the rectum would normally be. It is formed by folding loops of small intestine back on themselves and stitching or stapling them together. The internal walls are then removed thus forming a reservoir. The reservoir is then stitched or stapled into the perineum where the rectum was.
Pediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.
A volvulus is when a loop of intestine twists around itself and the mesentery that supports it, resulting in a bowel obstruction. Symptoms include abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, vomiting, constipation, and bloody stool. Onset of symptoms may be rapid or more gradual. The mesentery may become so tightly twisted that blood flow to part of the intestine is cut off, resulting in ischemic bowel. In this situation there may be fever or significant pain when the abdomen is touched.
The duodenal switch (DS) procedure, gastric reduction duodenal switch (GRDS), is a weight loss surgery procedure that is composed of a restrictive and a malabsorptive aspect.
Intestinal malrotation is a congenital anomaly of rotation of the midgut. It occurs during the first trimester as the fetal gut undergoes a complex series of growth and development. Malrotation can lead to a dangerous complication called volvulus. Malrotation can refer to a spectrum of abnormal intestinal positioning, often including:
Colectomy is bowel resection of the large bowel (colon). It consists of the surgical removal of any extent of the colon, usually segmental resection. In extreme cases where the entire large intestine is removed, it is called total colectomy, and proctocolectomy denotes that the rectum is included.
Duodenal cancer is a cancer in the first section of the small intestine known as the duodenum. Cancer of the duodenum is relatively rare compared to stomach cancer and colorectal cancer. Its histology is usually adenocarcinoma.
Intestinal atresia is any congenital malformation of the structure of the intestine that causes bowel obstruction. The malformation can be a narrowing (stenosis), absence or malrotation of a portion of the intestine. These defects can either occur in the small or large intestine.
Jejunoileal bypass (JIB) was a surgical weight-loss procedure performed for the relief of morbid obesity from the 1950s through the 1970s in which all but 30 cm (12 in) to 45 cm (18 in) of the small bowel were detached and set to the side.
Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate (SBI) is a medical food product derived from bovine serum obtained from adult cows in the United States. It is sold under the name EnteraGam.
Intestine transplantation is the surgical replacement of the small intestine for chronic and acute cases of intestinal failure. While intestinal failure can oftentimes be treated with alternative therapies such as parenteral nutrition (PN), complications such as PN-associated liver disease and short bowel syndrome may make transplantation the only viable option. One of the rarest type of organ transplantation performed, intestine transplantation is becoming increasingly prevalent as a therapeutic option due to improvements in immunosuppressive regimens, surgical technique, PN, and the clinical management of pre and post-transplant patients.
The longitudinal intestinal lengthening and tailoring procedure is performed by transecting the duodenum and anastomosing the duodenal stump to the pancreatic capsule or duodenal wall left in place on the pancreatic capsule. There are also another ways of performing this procedure. it is one of the surgical therapeutic options alongside with other surgical options such as small bowel segmental reversal, artificial intestinal valve construction, electrical pacing of the small bowel, serial transverse enteroplasty, or transplantation in treatment of short gut syndrome.
