Indigestion Glossary of Terms

1. Heartburn: Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow Pictures
2. Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the GERD Quiz

Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Acid indigestion: Excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid by the stomach cells. Medically...

Acid reflux: A common condition and an abnormal one in which acid in the stomach rises up...

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Amylase: An enzyme produced in the pancreas and salivary glands that helps in the digestio...

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Appendix: A small outpouching from the beginning of the large intestine.

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) ...

Belching: A normal process of releasing through the mouth air that accumulates in the stom...

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

1. In medici...

CBC: A commonly used abbreviation in medicine that stands for complete blood count, a set...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Colonoscopy: A procedure whereby a physician inserts a viewing tube (colonoscope) into the...

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Duodenal: Pertaining to the duodenum, part of the small intestine. As in duodenal ulcer or...

Duodenal ulcer: A crater (ulcer) in the lining of the beginning of the small intestine (du...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Dyspepsia: Indigestion. A condition characterized by upper abdominal symptoms that may inc...

EGD: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy.

Endoscopy: Examination of the inside of the body by using a lighted, flexible instrument c...

Erythromycin: Erythromycin is a common antibiotic for treating bacterial infection. Sold...

Esophagitis: Inflammation of the esophagus.

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy: Also known as EGD or upper endoscopy. A procedure that enables...

Estrogen: A female steroid hormone that is produced by the ovaries and, in lesser amounts,...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Flatulence: Excess gas in the intestinal tract. But excess flatulence is difficult to defi...

Food poisoning: A common flu-like illness typically characterized by nausea, vomiting and...

Gallbladder: A pear-shaped organ located below the liver that stores the bile secreted by ...

Gallstones: Stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones can be as smal...

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

Gastric emptying study: A test that evaluates the process of emptying food from the stomac...

Gastritis: Inflammation of the stomach.

Gastroesophageal: Pertaining to both the stomach and the esophagus, as in the gastroesopha...

Gastroesophageal reflux: The return of stomach contents back up into the esophagus This fr...

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

Gastroparesis: A disease of the muscles of the stomach or the nerves controlling the muscl...

GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heartburn: An uncomfortable feeling of burning and warmth occurring in waves rising up be...

Helicobacter pylori: A bacterium that causes stomach inflammation (gastritis) and ulcers i...

Hernia: A general term referring to a protrusion of a tissue through the wall of the cavit...

Hiatal: Pertaining to an hiatus, an opening.

Hiatal hernia: An anatomical abnormality in which part of the stomach protrudes up through...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Jaundice: Yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally h...

Jaw: The movable junction of the bones below the mouth (the mandible) and the bone just ab...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Lactose: The sugar found in milk. Lactose is a large sugar molecule that is made up of two...

Lactose intolerance: The inability to digest lactose, a component of milk and some other d...

Lightheadedness: A feeling you are "going to faint." Lightheadedness is medically distinc...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Meditation: A typically self-directed practice for relaxing the body and calming the mind....

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Pancreas: A spongy, tube-shaped organ that is about 6 inches long and is located in the ba...

Pancreatitis: Inflammation of the pancreas. Of the many causes of pancreatitis, the most c...

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning i...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Reflux: The term used when liquid backs up into the esophagus from the stomach.

Resolution: In genetics, the degree of molecular detail on a physical map of DNA. Resoluti...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Small bowel: Another name for the small intestine.

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stomach cancer: Cancer of the stomach, the main organ that holds food for digestion. World...

Stool: The solid matter that is discharged in a bowel movement.

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Sweating: The act of secreting fluid from the skin by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. The...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Taste: A perception that results from stimulation of a gustatory nerve. Taste belongs to t...

Tetracycline: A family of broad-spectrum antibiotics effective against a remarkably wide v...

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Ulcer: A lesion that is eroding away the skin or mucous membrane. Ulcers can have various ...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Vomit: Matter from the stomach that has come up into and may be ejected beyond the mouth, ...

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...