What are digestive diseases?
The digestive system is a tube consisting of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine, leading to the rectum. It also contains organs such as the liver, gallbladder and pancreas.
Each part of this system has a different purpose, such as breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, or eliminating toxins or alcohol.
A digestive disease, or disorder, involves something going wrong with one of the organs in this system.
Digestive diseases can cause:
- Problems with the esophagus such as reflux, achalasia.
- Problems with the stomach such as gastrointestinal paresis, stomach ulcers and stomach cancer.
- Problems with the gallbladder such as gallstones. Inflammation of the gallbladder.
- Problems with the pancreas such as pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.
- Problems with the liver such as liver cysts and liver cancer.
- Problems with the intestines such as celiac disease, dysentery, Hirschsprung’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, colon cancer and polyps.
- Problems with the rectum such as anal fissure, anal fistula and hemorrhoids.
- Problems with the system as a whole such as Crohn’s disease.
- Issues generally related to dietary problems such as constipation, indigestion, flatulence, food intolerance and lactose intolerance.
Digestive diseases can cause a wide variety of symptoms in different organs,
such as diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain or nausea.
What are the symptoms of a digestive disease?
The symptoms of a digestive disease can be:
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Weight gain or loss
- Heartburn
- Incontinence
- Nausea or vomiting
What type of specialist treats digestive diseases?
The gastroenterologist is the physician who specializes in diseases of the digestive tract. However, depending on the condition, they may not be able to make a diagnosis on their own without the help of other specialists, such as radiologists, to perform additional tests.