Small Bowel Obstruction: General Considerations Etiology Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a common manifestation, and appropriate management continues to be a clinical challenge. The morbidity and mortality associated with acute SBO continue to be significant; however, there has been a…
Traditional evaluation of the small bowel involved small bowel follow-though (SBFT) or enteroclysis, which provide excellent survey of the small bowel but are insensitive for subtle bowel pathologic processes and extraluminal abdominal findings. Within the last decade, as a result…
Technical Aspects Radionuclide gastric emptying studies (scintigraphy) remain the most widely used method for evaluation of gastric function. Radiopharmaceuticals Gastric emptying scintigraphy is most commonly performed with technetium-99m ( 99m Tc) sulfur colloid dispersed in a solid and/or liquid bolus.…
Etiology Gastric outlet obstruction is an uncommon clinical consequence with a wide range of causes. Benign and malignant as well as gastric and extragastric causes have been described. It was once relatively common to see patients present with gastric outlet…
Stromal tumors of the stomach are rare tumors that arise from the mesenchyma, the connective tissue and blood vessels that support an organ. The parenchyma, on the other hand, represents the functional tissue of the organ. Within the stomach, the…
Malignant Mucosal Processes Etiology A wide range of benign disease processes can affect the mucosa of the stomach, including inflammatory, infectious, hereditary, and autoimmune processes. What these processes have in common is that they affect one of the primary defenses…
Technical Aspects Technique The patient is given sodium bicarbonate/dimethicone granules (Carbex), a gas-producing agent, to swallow and then drinks the E-Z HD 250% weight/volume 60 mL barium. Spot views of the esophagus are taken at the beginning (anteroposterior and right anterior…
Technical Aspects Anatomy The esophagus extends from the pharynx to the cardiac portion of the stomach. The length of the esophagus is approximately 25 to 30 cm, and it has cervical, thoracic, and abdominal portions. The cervical portion extends from the…
Etiology The causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding include esophageal or gastric varices, Mallory-Weiss tears, gastritis, and gastric or duodenal ulcers. Common causes of lower gastrointestinal tract bleeding include colonic diverticulosis, ischemic and infectious colitis, colonic neoplasm, benign anorectal disease, arteriovenous…
Etiology The presence of extraluminal air in an acutely ill patient with abdominal pain is an ominous sign that usually indicates perforation of a hollow viscus. Common causes include gastroduodenal peptic ulcer disease, perforation of a gastrointestinal neoplasm, acute appendicitis…