Gastritis

The digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long tube. It runs from the mouth to the anus and includes esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines. Liver, gallbladder and pancreas are also involved. They produce juices to help digestion.

Gastrointestinal diseases refer to the diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely all organs mentioned above. Though diseases of the mouth are often not considered to be gastrointestinal diseases, some diseases which involve other parts of the gastrointestinal tract can manifest in the mouth, alone or in combination with other symptoms.

Gastritis is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach. This disease has many possible causes. The stomach lining contains special cells that produce acid and enzymes, which help break down food for digestion, and mucus, which protects the stomach lining from acid. When the stomach lining is inflamed, it produces less acid, enzymes, and mucus.

The main acute causes are extensive alcohol consumption or prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (also known as NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Sometimes gastritis develops after major surgery, traumatic injury, burns or severe infections. Chronic causes are infection with bacteria, primarily Helicobacter pylori, chronic bile reflux, stress and certain autoimmune disorders can cause gastritis as well.

Many people with gastritis experience no symptoms at all. However, upper central abdominal pain is the most common symptom. The pain may be dull, vague, burning, sharp or gnawing. Nausea, vomiting (if present) may be clear, green or yellow, blood-streaked or completely bloody, depending on the severity of the stomach inflammation. The patient may suffer from belching, but it usually doesn’t relieve the pain much. The patient may also experience bloating, heartburn, feeling full after only a few bites of food, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss. Other symptoms are indigestion, abdominal bloating and pernicious aneamia.

Often a diagnosis can be made based on the patient’s description of the symptoms. But not very often it is enough to make an appropriate diagnosis and so other methods may be used to identify gastritis, which include: complete blood count test; presence of H. pylori; liver, kidney, gallbladder or pancreas functions; urinalyses, stool samples, X-rays, EGGs, endoscopy, checking for stomach lining inflammation and mucous erosion, stomach biopsy, etc.

Once the cause of gastritis is identified, steps can be taken to avoid exposure. For example, if some food is triggering the inflammation, you should exclude or reduce the amount of it. Over-the-counter antacids in liquid or tablet forms are common treatment for mild gastritis. Antacids neutralize stomach acid and can provide fast pain relief. Proton pump inhibitor appears to inhibit H.pylori activity. Cytoprotective agents help protect the tissue that line the stomach and small intestine. Consumption of hot or spicy food is contraindicated. Patients with pernicious aneamia are given B₁₂ injections. Several regimes are used to treat H.pylori infection. Most patient use a combination of antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor. Antibiotics aids in destroying the bacteria and the proton pump inhibitor heals inflammation and may increase the effectiveness of antibiotics.

If left untreated, gastritis may lead to stomach ulcers and stomach bleeding. Life-threatening consequences of the disease can be stomach cancer, especially if you have extensive thinning of the stomach lining and changes in the lining's cells.

Exercise 6 Answer the following questions:

1. What is gastritis?

2. What is the function stomach lining?

3. What are the symptoms of gastritis?

4. What are the causes of gastritis?

5. Do stress or spicy food cause gastritis?

6. How is gastritis treated?

7. What is the diagnosis of gastritis based on?

8. What are the complications of gastritis?

Exercise 7. Match the following Ukrainian words and word combinations with the English ones:

Exercise 8. Say whether the sentences are true or false:

1. Gastritis is an erosion of the stomach mucosa.

2. Gastritis is caused by autoimmune disorders.

3. Cytoprotective agents are used to fight with the H.pylori.

4. Gastritis is characterized by fever and rash covering the whole body.

5. Feeling full after only a few bites of food is one of the symptoms of gastritis.

6. Treatment of gastritis includes taking antacids and antibiotics.

7. The most common symptom of gastritis is pain in the pelvic cavity.

8. Many patients with gastritis may experience no symptoms at all.

Exercise 9. Match the following terms with their definition:

Exercise 10. Complete the following sentences choosing suitable words from the box:

1. …………… or smoking can make gastritis worse.

2. Consumption of ……………. and alcohol should be strictly prohibited in patient with gastritis.

3. You’re more likely to develop gastritis if you’re at risk of …………..

4. You may need surgery if your ulcers ………….., bleed or obstruct the stomach.

5. …………….. weakens the lining so acid can reach the stomach and duodenal wall.

6. …………….. are a class of drugs that provides analgesic (pain-killing) and antipyretic (fever-reducing) effects, and, in higher doses, anti-inflammatory effects.

7. Chronic cause of gastritis may be ………….. that is a backflow of bile into the stomach.

8. ……………. occurs when the stomach lacks red blood cells or hemoglobin needed to properly absorb and digest vitamin B12.

Exercise 11. Translate the words given in italics into English. Translate the whole sentences into your native language:

1. Gastritis can be caused by irritation due to зловживанню алкоголем, chronic vomiting, stress.

2. The patient has been suffering from a здуття черевної порожнини for a prolonged period of time.

3. Ліки, що дозволені до продажу без рецепту may relieve pain in mild forms of gastritis.

4. Gastric cancer is загрозливий для життя наслідок хвороби caused by the atrophic gastritis.

5. The patient was complaining of відрижку that gave him only a temporary полегшення of pain.

6. It is important to administer a patient розгорнутий аналіз крові to identify the inflammation or some other deviation from the norm.

7. Злоякісна анемія was a fatal disease before about the year 1920, when George Whipple suggested raw liver as a treatment.

8. Хронічний відтік жовчі is considered to be one of the least causes of gastritis.

Exercise 12. Choose the correct word that completes each of the following sentences:

1. Ulcer and cirrhosis are not (rare, rear) diseases among those who are prone to alcohol.

2. The animal insulin can (course, cause, corse) allergic reactions.

3. At later stages gastric cancer can be treated but rarely can be (diagnosed, cured).

4. When gastric cancer is found at an early stage, there is better chance of (convalescence, premature death).

5. Smokers, who have stopped smoking, (lower, increase) their risk of getting gastritis.

6. Stomach cancer is a disease in which (malignant, benign) cells appear in the stomach.

7. Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses (chemical drugs, rays) to stop the growth of cancer cells.

8. After the stomach surgery the patient should take vitamin (supplements, addition) and injections of vitamin B₁₂.

Exercise 13. Learn the following Greek and Latin terms denoting medicine:

________algia – pain in an organ

________scope – denotes a viewing instrument, used for examining smth

________itis - denotes inflammation of an organ

________logy – denotes a branch of science

________tomy - combining form meaning “cutting, incision” of an organ

________ectomy - meaning “excision” of the part specified by the initial element

________rrhagia – means “profuse discharge, ” “abnormal profuse flow”

________malacia – means softening, or loss of consistency, of an organ or tissue

Exercise 14. Add the missing part of the clinical terms pertaining to the pathology of the stomach:

1. Gastro __________(an instrument inserted through the mouth to inspect the inside of the stomach)

2. Gastr __________ (the surgical removal of a part of the stomach)

3. Gastr________(inflammation of the stomach lining)

4. Gastro_________ (softening of stomach lining due to poor blood supply or an inflammation)

5. Gastroentero______ (the branch of medicine that is concerned with the disorders of the gastrointestinal tract)

6. Gastros ______ (surgical incision into the stomach)

7. Gastro__________ (a bleeding from the blood vessels and the stomach lining)

8. Gastr___________ (pain in the stomach or abdominal region)

Exercise 15. Translate sentences into your native language paying attention to Gerund:

Reading of scientific journals is useful. – Читання наукових журналів дуже корисно.

I like being read. – Я люблю, коли мені читають.

Having examined the patient the doctor made a diagnosis. – Оглянувши пацієнта, лікар поставив діагноз.

After having been examined by a doctor, the patient got a prescription. – Після того, як його оглянув лікар, пацієнт отримав рецепт.

1. I remember having been treated for pneumonia at this hospital.

2. The scientist continued investigating the properties of blood gases.

3. The dissecting room is worth visiting.

4. The patient had to give up going in for sport because of the disease of the joints.

5. After having been told the results of the X-ray examination the physician wrote them down in the patient's case history.

6. No physician can make a proper diagnosis without having examined the patient.

7. The patient with gastritis keeps complaining of her stomachache despite the prescribe treatment.

8. The doctor insisted on doubling the dose of anti-aneamia drug to the patient with pernicious aneamia.