Gastrointestinal perforation is a complete penetration of the wall of the stomach, small intestine or large bowel, resulting in intestinal contents flowing into the abdominal cavity. Perforation of the intestines results in the potential for bacterial contamination of the abdominal cavity (a condition known as peritonitis). Perforation of the stomach can lead to a chemical peritonitis due to leaked gastric acid. Perforation anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract is a surgical emergency. The Disease Bold textDatabase is a free website that provides information about the relationships between medical conditions, symptoms, and medications. ... eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria is also the fictional name of a warring nation under Benzino Napaloni as dictator, in the 1940 film The Great Dictator... The abdomen (from the Latin word meaning belly) is the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax. ... In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. ... Gastric acid is, together with several enzymes and the intrinsic factor, one of the main secretions of the stomach. ... Surgical emergency is a medical emergency which requires immediate surgical intervention (the only way to solve the problem successfully). ...

Causes

Underlying causes include gastric ulcer, appendicitis, gastrointestinal cancer, diverticulitis, Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome, trauma, Bestiality, and Ascariasis. Peptic ulcer is a non-malignant ulcer of the stomach (called gastric ulcer) or duodenum (called duodenal ulcer). ... Appendicitis (or epityphlitis) is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. ... Gastrointestinal cancer refers to malignant conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, including the esophagus, stomach, liver, biliary system, pancreas, bowels, and anus. ... Diverticulitis is a common digestive disorder particularly found in the large intestine. ... In medicine, a trauma patient has suffered serious and life-threatening physical injury resulting in secondary complications such as shock, respiratory failure and death. ... Look up Bestiality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Ascaris lumbricoides Linnaeus, 1758 Ascariasis is a human disease caused by the parasitic roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. ...

Symptoms

Gastrointestinal perforation results in severe abdominal pain intensified by movement, nausea and vomiting. Later symptoms include fever and or chills. Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. ... For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation). ... Heaving redirects here. ... An analogue medical thermometer showing the temperature of 38. ...

Diagnosis

On X-rays, free gas may be visible in the abdominal cavity. The perforation can often be visualised using CT. White blood cells are often elevated.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the underlying cause, but surgical intervention is nearly always required.

References