Gastrointestinal Disorders: Facts and General Information

Updated/Revised Date: 2022-04-11
Author: Disabled World | Contact: Disabled World (Disabled-World.com)
Additional References: Digestive Disorders Publications

Synopsis: Information on disorders of the human digestive system involving the gastrointestinal tract, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and the organs of digestions, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Mechanical and chemical digestion begin in the mouth where food is chewed, and mixed with saliva to break down starches. Food is partly broken down by the process of chewing and by the chemical action of salivary enzymes (these enzymes are produced by the salivary glands and break down starches into smaller molecules). Two solid digestive organs, the liver, and the pancreas, produce digestive juices that reach the intestine through small tubes called ducts. The gallbladder stores the liver's digestive juices until they are needed in the intestine. Parts of the nervous and circulatory systems also play major roles in the digestive system.

Main Document

Gastrointestinal diseases refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum, and the accessory organs of digestions, the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Digestion is the breaking down of food in the body, into a form that can be absorbed and used or excreted. It is also the process by which the body breaks down food into smaller components that can be absorbed by the blood stream. Common digestive problems include heartburn/GERD, IBD, and IBS. Symptoms may include bloating, diarrhea, gas, stomach pain, and stomach cramps.

To use the food we eat, our body has to break the food down into smaller molecules that it can process; it also has to excrete waste. Organs that make up the digestive tract are the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, also called the colon, rectum, and anus. Inside these hollow organs is a lining called the mucosa. In the mouth, stomach, and small intestine, the mucosa contains tiny glands that produce juices to help digest food. The digestive tract also contains a layer of smooth muscle that helps break down food and move it along the tract.

The digestive process begins in the mouth.

Mechanical and chemical digestion begin in the mouth where food is chewed, and mixed with saliva to break down starches. Food is partly broken down by the process of chewing and by the chemical action of salivary enzymes (these enzymes are produced by the salivary glands and break down starches into smaller molecules).

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Illustration of a man in a green shirt bent over holding his stomach area.

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Two solid digestive organs, the liver, and the pancreas, produce digestive juices that reach the intestine through small tubes called ducts. The gallbladder stores the liver's digestive juices until they are needed in the intestine. Parts of the nervous and circulatory systems also play major roles in the digestive system.

The stomach continues to break food down mechanically and chemically through the churning of the stomach and mixing with enzymes. Absorption occurs in the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, and the process finishes with excretion.

The stomach is a small,'C'-shaped pouch with walls made of thick, elastic muscles, which stores and helps break down food. Food enters the stomach through the cardiac orifice where it is further broken apart and thoroughly mixed with gastric acid, pepsin, and other digestive enzymes to break down proteins.

The enzymes in the stomach also have an optimum, meaning that they work at a specific pH and temperature better than any others. The acid itself does not break down food molecules, rather it provides an optimum pH for the reaction of the enzyme pepsin and kills many microorganisms that are ingested with the food. It can also denature proteins. This is the process of reducing polypeptide bonds and disrupting salt bridges, which in turn causes a loss of secondary, tertiary, or quaternary protein structure. The parietal cells of the stomach also secrete a glycoprotein called intrinsic factor, which enables the absorption of vitamin B-12. Other small molecules such as alcohol are absorbed in the stomach, passing through the membrane of the stomach and entering the circulatory system directly. Food in the stomach is in semi-liquid form, which upon completion is known as chyme.

Gastrointestinal Functional Disorders

Functional disorders are the most common problems affecting the colon and rectum, and include constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The primary causes for functional disorders include:

Being stressed
Being pregnant
Eating a diet low in fiber
Not getting enough exercise
Traveling or other changes in routine
Eating large amounts of dairy products
Resisting the urge to have a bowel movement
Taking antacid medicines containing calcium or aluminum
Resisting the urge to have bowel movements due to pain from hemorrhoids
Overusing laxatives (stool softeners) that, over time, weaken the bowel muscles
Taking certain medicines (especially antidepressants, iron pills, and strong pain medicines such as narcotics)

Digestive Diseases Facts and Statistics

Twenty million Americans suffer from chronic digestive diseases
Digestive diseases necessitate 25 percent of all surgical operations
Digestive diseases are one of the most prevalent causes of disability in the workforce
More Americans are hospitalized with digestive diseases than any other type of disease
Digestive diseases rank third among illnesses in total economic cost in the United States
Fourteen million cases of acute digestive diseases are treated in this country each year, including one-third of all malignancies and some of the most common acute infections
Digestive diseases represent one of the Nation's most serious health problems in terms of discomfort and pain, personal expenditures for treatment, working hours lost, and mortality
In the United States, digestive diseases cause yearly expenditures of over $17,000,000,000 in direct health care costs and a total annual economic burden of nearly $50,000,000,000

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