Babies who are breastfed receive nutrients from their mother's milk. Sometimes, things included in the mother's diet can be passed on to the baby. Such is the case with caffeine, which can lead to constipation in your baby. Caffeine is contained...
Hirschsprung's disease is a condition of the large intestine that causes severe constipation and intestinal obstruction. The constipation comes from the lack of nerve cells in part or all of the large intestine. Hirschsprung's disease is mainly...
A sonogram is an image of the organs inside of the human body. It is also called an ultrasound, and the image is created by a machine that uses high frequency or ultrasonic waves. It does not use radiation. When the machine sends the sound waves,...
Abdominal pain is experienced by both men and women, and can come from an array of different things. Some abdominal pain can be mild and tolerable, or it can be severe enough to send a person to the hospital. This is a very common symptom, and...
The liver is the largest organ in the abdominal cavity. Located predominantly in the upper right quadrant, of the abdomen, the liver performs over 400 different processes that sustain a healthy body. When exposed to disease, the liver can enlarge,...
Small bowel obstruction occurs when the intestine loses function as a result of either partial or complete blockage. Postoperative scar tissue causes most bowel obstructions and can happen anywhere from four weeks to many years after surgery. An...
Your liver is one of your body's largest and most important organs. It is found directly under your rib cage and is vital in the digestion of food, cleansing the body of toxic chemicals and helping maintain energy levels. Certain symptoms can help...
Acute renal failure, also called acute kidney failure, is a sudden loss of kidney function that results in an inability of the kidneys to filter wastes without losing electrolytes. This is a very serious condition that can lead to the need for...
According to "Schwartz's Principles of Surgery," obstruction is the most common surgical disorder of the small intestine. It can result from a variety of pathologic conditions, including those which originate within the bowel itself and those...
Eating a good meal is one of life's pleasures, but experiencing stomach pain immediately after can ruin the enjoyment. Although stomach pain after eating is not usually a cause for medical concern, pain accompanied by other symptoms and pain in...
Megacolon is a condition in which the colon is abnormally dilated in a short space of time. Toxic substances build up in the intestines and can cause bowel perforation. In children, megacolon can be caused by several underlying conditions...
Your bowels and other abdominal organs have slick, membranous surfaces that prevent them from sticking together when they make contact under normal circumstances. Adhesions may occur when tissues make contact and band together, most often after...
Iron is typically obtained through food consumption; however, some people may have to get their iron from supplements. Iron supplements come in the form of liquid, capsules, tablets or included in multivitamins or prenatal pills. The dosing of...
According to Mesothelioma.net, mesothelioma is a rare form of malignant cancer that occurs when the cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide extremely rapidly. Malignant mesothelium cells can invade and damage the organs they would...
Folic acid is used by the cells to perform various important functions. Also called vitamin B-9, this vitamin is plentiful in leafy green vegetables, lima beans, white beans, kidney beans, peas and fruits. Cereal and grain products have folic acid...
Reaching 12 feet or higher, with large ornate leaves and showy seedpods, the castor plant (Ricinus communis) produces oil with medicinal and non-medicinal value. Pressed from the plant's round shiny seeds, castor oil dates back to the ancient...
The small intestine receives food and nutrients directly from the food in your stomach. The food travels from the stomach to the first segment of the small intestine, the duodenum. Enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver and gallbladder...
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the protective lining of some organs. The lining is called the mesothelium. In a patient with mesothelioma, the cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and begin to reproduce uncontrollably....
Radiation exposure to a fetus can occur if a pregnant woman is exposed to radiation from diagnostic back, pelvic or abdominal x-rays or CT scans or if the mother swallows or breathes in radioactive materials. Radiation during pregnancy in...
Diseases that affect the kidney can be difficult for a patient or doctor to diagnose without using a variety of diagnostic tests. Kidney function tests are defined by the Encyclopedia of Surgery as a variety of procedures that evaluate whether a...
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), also known as spastic colon, affects as many as one in five Americans, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). Stress can worsen the problem, resulting in a flare up of...
People with Hirschsprung's disease have a lack of nerve cells in a part of the large intestine. These nerve cells are responsible for relaying a message from the brain to the muscles in the large intestine, signaling the colon to move food through...
The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute reports that 95 percent of all abdominal aortic aneurysms (also referred to as "triple A" or AAA) are caused by atherosclerosis (fatty plaque build up in blood vessels). Symptoms of the disorder are...
Paiyouji tea is marketed as a weight loss formula. Manufacturers claim the tea will suppress your appetite and help you lose weight by controlling your blood glucose levels. The tea’s ingredients include konjaku flour, malt, oligosaccharide,...
Doctors perform a diagnostic procedure known as an angiography, also called an arteriography, to visualize the blood vessels in a particular area of the body. A cerebral angiography provides images of the blood vessels in and around the brain....
Celebrity cook Rachael Ray does not use a scale to track her dieting results. In fact, she favors a "no-diet" approach to eating that focuses on establishing healthy habits in lieu of counting calories or carbs. The rules for the diet are...
Indigestion, also referred to as dyspepsia, is not a medical condition, but rather the name for a combination of symptoms that many people experience after eating. Indigestion most commonly includes burning and pain in the upper abdomen, premature...
Abdominal fistulas are abnormal openings that allow the contents of the stomach or bowels to leak. Leakage into other organs is called an entero-enteral fistula. If the contents leak through to the skin, it is known as an enterocutaneous...
If you experience stomach cramps after eating, you might have an inflammation of your pancreas, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. This illness, called pancreatitis, can lead to serious and even fatal consequences if...
