- Gastroparesis
- Gastroparesis is a medical condition in which the muscle of the stomach is paralyzed by a disease of either the stomach muscle itself or the nerves controlling the muscle. As a consequence, food and secretions do not empty normally from the stomach, and there is nausea and vomiting. Abdominal bloating and pain can result. Gastroparesis may be associated with paralysis of other parts of the gastrointestinal tract (the small intestine and colon). The most common cause of gastroparesis is diabetes mellitus. (So often is gastroparesis due to diabetes that there is a term, gastroparesis diabeticorum, that refers exclusively to it). A nuclear medicine test designed to study gastric emptying is the most common means of diagnosis of gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is treated with medications to increase the contractions of the stomach's muscle, occasionally with surgery, and experimentally with electrical pacing. The word "gastroparesis" is compounded from "gastro", pertaining to the stomach + "paresis", a loss of strength = a loss of strength
* * *Weakness of gastric peristalsis, which results in delayed emptying of the bowels. [gastro- + G. paresis, a letting go, paralysis]- g. diabeticorum dilation of the stomach with gastric retention in diabetics, commonly seen in association with severe acidosis or coma.
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gas·tro·pa·re·sis .gas-trō-pə-'rē-səs n, pl gas·tro·pa·re·ses -.sēz partial paralysis of the stomach <diabetic \gastroparesis is characterized by a triad of postprandial symptoms: nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension (G. F. Cahill )(et al)>* * *
gas·tro·pa·re·sis (gas″tro-pə-reґsis) [gastro- + paresis] paralysis of the stomach, usually from damage to its nerve supply, so that food empties out much more slowly, if at all. Symptoms include early satiety, nausea, and vomiting. Called also gastroparalysis and gastroplegia.
Medical dictionary. 2011.