2. COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF
GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS
1) Abdominal pain -This is caused by stretching of smooth muscle or organ capsules.
2) Anorexia- Loss of appetite which prevents or markedly reduces eating.
3) Constipation- Passing feces less frequently than normal and/or passing hard feces.
4) Diarrhea- Unusually frequent passing of loose or watery feces.
5) Dysphagia- Difficulty swallowing
6) Haematemesis -Vomiting of blood, either fresh blood or partly digested.
7) Melaena- Passing blood in the feces.Very small amounts are only found by testing for
faecal occult (hidden) blood (FOB).
8) Nausea- Feeling of sickness, which usually precedes vomiting.
9) Vomiting-An involuntary reflex in which there is forceful ejection of stomach contents
through the mouth.
3. DISEASES OFTHE MOUTH
1. Thrush (oral candidiasis)- This acute fungal infection is caused by the yeast
Candida albicans, which occurs when the commensal microbe grows in white
patches on the tongue and oral mucosa.
2. Gingivitis- This is inflammation of the gums, which may be acute or, much
more commonly, chronic
3. Recurrent aphthous ulceration- This common condition features extremely
painful ulcers that occur in any part of the mouth.The cause is unknown
4. Dental caries- Tooth decay starts with discoloration and then formation of
cavities (caries).
5. Cleft palate and cleft lip (harelip)- congenital disorder where lips or hard
palate develops as 2 different halves
4. DISEASES OFTHE PHARYNX & SALIVARY
GLANDS
1. Tonsillitis- Viruses and Streptococcus pyogenes are common causes of
inflammation of the tonsils.
2. Diphtheria- This is a bacterial infection of the pharynx which may extend to the
nasopharynx and trachea, caused by Corynebacterium diphtheria
3. Mumps- This is an acute inflammatory condition of the salivary glands,
especially the parotids. It is caused by the mumps virus, one of the
parainfluenza group.
5. DISEASES OFTHE STOMACH
1. Gastritis- Inflammation of the stomach can be an acute or chronic condition.
2. Peptic ulcer disease- Ulceration involves the full thickness of the
gastrointestinal mucosa and penetrates the muscle layer . It is caused by
disruption of the normal balance between the corrosive effect of gastric juice
and the protective effect of mucus on the gastric epithelial cells.The underlying
causes are not known but there is a strong association with H. pylori infection.
6. DISEASES OFTHE INTESTINES
1. Appendicitis – inflammation of
appendix
2. Typhoid and paratyphoid (enteric)
fever
3. Escherichia coli (E. coli) food
poisoning
4. Staphylococcal food poisoning
(Staphylococcus aureus)
5. Clostridium perfringens food
poisoning
6. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
1. Campylobacter food poisoning (Gram-
negative bacilli)
2. Cholera (Vibrio cholera)
3. Bacillary dysentery (Shigella group)
4. Amoebiasis (Entamoeba histolytica)
5. Rotavirus- major cause of diarrhea in young
children.
6. Ulcerative colitis - This is a chronic
inflammatory disease of the mucosa of the
colon and rectum, which may ulcerate and
become infected
