Bloating is any abnormal general swelling, or increase in diameter of the abdominal area. As a symptom, the patient feels a full and tight abdomen, which may cause abdominal pain sometimes accompanied by borborygmus. Bloating may have several causes, the most common being accumulation of liquids and intestinal gas. Ascites is the proper medical term for abdominal bloating caused by excessive accumulation of liquid inside the cavity. The term symptom (from the Greek syn = con/plus and pipto = fall, together meaning co-exist) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... In medicine, a sign is a feature of disease as detected by the doctor during physical examination of a patient. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ... The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... Edema (BE: oedema, formerly known as dropsy) is swelling of any organ or tissue due to accumulation of excess fluid. ... The abdomen is a part of the body. ... The term symptom (from the Greek syn = con/plus and pipto = fall, together meaning co-exist) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. ... Borborygmus (plural borborygmi) is the rumbling sound produced by the movement of gas through the intestines of animals. ...

Common causes for abdominal bloating are:

• Overeating (gastric distension)
• Lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance and other food intolerances
• Food allergy
• Aerophagia (air swallowing, a nervous habit)
• Alvarez' syndrome, hysterical or neurotic abdominal bloating without excess of gas in the digestive tract
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Partial bowel obstruction
• Gastric dumping syndrome or rapid gastric emptying
• The ingestion of some gas-producing foods
• Constipation
• Splenic-flexure syndrome
• Menstruation, dysmenorrhea and premenstrual stress syndrome
• Polycystic ovary syndrome and ovarian cysts
• Massive infestation with intestinal parasites, such as worms (e.g, Ascaris lumbricoides)
• Diverticulosis
• Ingestion of food additives, such as Sulfites, by persons sensitive to them.

Important but uncommon causes of abdominal bloating include large intra-abdominal tumors, such as those arising from ovarian, liver, uterus and stomach cancer; and megacolon, an abnormal dilation of the colon, due to some diseases, such as Chagas disease, a parasitic infection. Gastric distention is bloating of the stomach when air is pumped into it. ... Fructose intolerance is a hereditary condition due to a deficiency of liver enzymes that metabolise fructose. ... Food intolerances are increasingly widespread. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Aerophagia (var. ... Bowel obstruction is a mechanical blockage of the intestines, preventing the normal transit of the products of digestion. ... Gastric dumping syndrome, or rapid gastric emptying, happens when the lower end of the small intestine, the jejunum, fills too quickly with undigested food from the stomach. ... Constipation or irregularity, is a condition of the digestive system where a person (or animal) experiences hard feces that are difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in severe cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. ... In medicine, splenic-flexure syndrome is a chronic disorder that seems to be caused by trapped gas at bends (flexures) in the colon. ... The menstrual cycle is the periodic change in a womans body that occurs every month between puberty and menopause and that relates to reproduction. ... Dysmenorrhea (or dysmenorrhoea), cramps or painful menstruation, involves menstrual periods that are accompanied by either sharp, intermittent pain or dull, aching pain, usually in the pelvis or lower abdomen. ... PMS redirects here. ... Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS, also known clinically as Stein-Leventhal syndrome), is an endocrine disorder that affects 5–10% of women. ... An ovarian cyst is any collection of fluid within the ovary. ... Intestinal parasites are parasites that populate the gastro-intestinal tract. ... Binomial name Ascaris lumbricoides Ascaris lumbricoides is a human parasitic roundworm, which causes the disease of ascariasis. ... Diverticulosis, otherwise known as diverticular disease, is the condition of having diverticula in the large colon which are outpocketings of the colonic mucosa and submucosa through weaknesses of muscle layers in the colon wall. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... Ovarian cancer is a malignant ovarian neoplasm (an abnormal growth located on the ovaries). ... Hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver (medical terms pertaining to the liver often start in hepato- or hepatic from the Greek word for liver, hepar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Endometrial cancer. ... Stomach cancer (also called gastric cancer) can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs, particularly the esophagus, small intestine. ... Megacolon is an abnormal dilatation of the colon (a part of the large intestines) that is not caused by mechanical obstruction. ... Colon has several meanings: colon (anatomy) colon (punctuation) colon (rhetoric) See also Colón This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ...

Gaseous bloating may be a consequence of cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedures, due to the artificial mouth-to-mouth insuflation of air. Wikibooks has more about this subject: First Aid/CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency first aid protocol for a victim of cardiac arrest. ...

Postmortem bloating occurs in cadavers, due to the formation of gases by bacterial action and putrefaction of the internal tissues of the abdomen and the inside of the intestines. Putrefaction is the decomposition of proteins, especially by anaerobic microorganisms. ... The intestine is the portion of the alimentary canal extending from the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine. ...

Bloating from Irritable Bowel Syndrome is of unknown origin but often results from an insult to the gut, and as such can overlap with infective diarrhea, celiac, and inflammatory bowel diseases. IBS is a brain-gut dysfunction that causes visceral hypersensitivity and results in bloating in association with recurrent diarrhea (or constipation) and abdominal pain. While there is no direct treatment for the underlying pathology of IBS, the symptom of bloating can be well managed through dietary changes that prevent the over-reaction of the gastrocolic reflex. Having soluble fiber foods and supplements, substituting soy or rice products for dairy, being careful with fresh fruits and vegetables that are high in insoluble fiber, and eating regular small amounts can all help to lessen the symptoms of IBS (Van Vorous 2000). Foods and beverages to be avoided or minimized include red meat, oily or fatty (and fried) products, dairy (even when there is no lactose intolerance), solid chocolate, coffee (regular and decaffeinated), alcohol, carbonated beverages (especially those also containing sorbitol) and artificial sweeteners (Van Vorous 2000).

In some animals, like cats, dogs and cattle, gastric dilatation-volvulus, or bloat also occurs when gas is trapped inside the stomach and a gastric torsion or volvulus prevents it from escaping. Look up CAT, cat, Cat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog is a mammal in the order Carnivora. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Bloat, also known as torsion, gastric torsion, and gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) is a medical condition in which the stomach becomes overstretched by excessive gas content. ...

See also

• Abdominal distension

Abdominal distension (or Distended abdomen) can be a sign of many other conditions, including: diverticulitis lactose intolerance obstructed bowel premenstrual syndrome pregnancy weight gain See also Gastric distension Bloating External links University of Maryland MedlinePlus/NIH Category: ...

Source

• Partly based on Abdominal bloating. MedlinePlus (US public domain Medical Encyclopedia). Update Date: 10 November 2004. Updated by: Christian Stone, M.D., Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

• Van Vorous, Heather. Eating for IBS. 2000. ISBN 1-56924-600-9. Excerpted with author's permission at Help for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (see IBS Diet Section)