Untitled Quiz

DIGESTIVE DISORDERS

• Esophageal Atresia and Tracheoesophageal Fistula: A congenital condition discovered shortly after birth, typically due to feeding difficulties. Esophageal atresia involves a non-canalized esophagus segment, leading to a mechanical obstruction. Often associated with a fistula connecting esophageal pouches to a bronchus or trachea. Can cause aspiration, suffocation, pneumonia, and fluid/electrolyte imbalances.

DIAPHRAGMATIC HERNIA

• Definition: Occurs when the diaphragm doesn't develop completely, allowing abdominal organs to enter the chest cavity.
• Severity: Severe cases cause pulmonary hypoplasia (underdevelopment of the lungs), which is often incompatible with life.

OMPHALOCELE

• Definition: A congenital defect where abdominal organs (mostly intestines) protrude through a membrane sac at the navel.
• Location: Centered.
• Content: Contains intestines, colon, bladder, and gonads (occasionally).
• Association: Often associated with other congenital anomalies.

GASTROSCHISIS

• Definition: Similar to omphalocele, but the abdominal organs protrude outside the body, outside a sac, with all the layers of the abdominal wall, from peritoneum to skin are involved.
• Location: Right side.
• Content: Contains intestines, liver (often), and sometimes spleen, colon, and bladder.
• Association: Frequently associated with other congenital anomalies.

MECKEĽS DIVERTSICULUM

• Definition: A small, congenital outpouching of the ileum (part of the small intestine). It's the most common true diverticulum.
• Mechanism: Results from failed involution of the vitelline duct, which connects the developing gut to the yolk sac.
• Location: Usually within 2 feet (60 cm) of the ileocecal valve, approximately 2 inches (5 cm) long.
• Prevalence: Occurs in approximately 2% of the population.
• Sex Predominance: Twice as common in males.
• Symptom Onset: Often asymptomatic, often becoming symptomatic by age 2 (only ~4% are ever symptomatic).

PYLORIC STENOSIS/PYLORIC OBTSTRUCTION

• Definition: A narrowing of the opening between the stomach and small intestine (pylorus).
• Cause: Congenital hypertrophy of the pyloric sphincter.
• Symptoms/Presentation: Projectile vomiting following feeding, constantly hungry, voracious appetite, dehydration.
• Age of onset: Infants generally affected between 2 and 12 weeks old, but presentation can be from 2 weeks to 2 months.

HIRSCHSPRUNG'S DISEASE

• Definition: Congenital aganglionic megacolon, a condition where the nerves necessary for gut movement are absent in a segment of the large intestine.
• Mechanism: Lack of normal migration of neural crest cells from the cecum to rectum.
• Characteristics: Results in paralysis of bowel segments below the affected area, leading to bowel obstruction.

ACHALASIA

• Definition: A condition causing the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to remain contracted, obstructing the passage of food into the stomach.
• Symptoms: Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing solids and liquids), difficulty belching, chest pain, and regurgitation of undigested food.

MALLORY-WEISS SYNDROME

• Definition: Longitudinal tears in the mucosa of the distal esophagus and proximal stomach, typically occurring after forceful vomiting or retching.
• Causes: Prolonged and persistent vomiting (e.g., from illness, alcohol use, or bulimia).
• Symptoms: Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (hematemesis).

BOERHAAVE'S SYNDROME

• Definition: A spontaneous rupture of the esophagus, usually in the lower thoracic area, after forceful vomiting.
• Symptoms: Chest pain and shock, often accompanied by subcutaneous emphysema (air in subcutaneous tissues), which is audible during auscultation of the chest (Hamman's sign).

REFLUX ESOPHOAGITIS

• Definition: Inflammation of the esophageal lining (epithelium) due to frequent reflux of stomach acid.
• Cause: Transient lower esophageal sphincter (LES) relaxation; associated with conditions like obesity, hiatal hernia, pregnancy.

MISCELLANEOUS (HISTOLOGY)

• Histological Findings in various disorders (e.g., Inflammatory cells, inflammatory infiltrates, crypt abscesses, mucosal atrophy, pseudopyloric epithelial metaplasia)

INFECTIOUS ENTEROCOLITIS

• Etiologies: Viral (Rotavirus, Calciviruses, Norwalk, Sapporo-like, Enteric adenoviruses, Astroviruses), Bacterial (E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Yersinia, Vibrio, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens, TB - "overgrowth"), Parasitic (Ascaris, Strongyloides, Necator, Enterobius, Tricuris, Diphyllobothrium, Taenia, Hymenolepsis, Amebiasis, Giardia)
• Symptoms: Diarrhea, abdominal pain, urgency, perianal discomfort, incontinence, hemorrhage.

PSEUDOMEMBRANOUS COLITIS

• Cause: Infection by Clostridium difficile.
• Mechanism: Disruption of normal gut microbiota by antibiotics allows bacterial overgrowth.
• Symptoms: Inflammation and formation of pseudomembranes in the colon (dense layer of inflammatory cells and debris at sites of colonic mucosal injury).

WHIPPLE DISEASE

• Cause: Infection by the bacterium Tropheryma whipplei.
• Symptoms: Multivisceral disease, involving malabsorption, lymphadenopathy, and arthritis.

INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

• Crohn's Disease: Often transmural inflammatory involvement that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Ulcerative Colitis: Limited to the colon and rectum, involving only the mucosa and submucosa.

MICROSCOPIC COLITIS

• Collagenous Colitis: Thickened subepithelial collagen, inflammatory cells in the lamina propria.
• Lymphocytic Colitis: Increased intraepithelial lymphocytes and lack of a thickened collagen layer.

SIGMOID DIVERCTICULAR DISEASE

• Definition: Acquired outpouchings of the mucosal or submucosal layers of the colon, usually in the sigmoid colon.
• Cause: The unique structure of the colonic muscularis propria and the elevated intraluminal pressure in the sigmoid colon.
• Symptoms: Usually asymptomatic initially but can lead to diverticulitis (inflammation) and potential complications like perforation.

CELIAC DISEASE

• Definition: A chronic autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley) ingestion.
• Mechanism: Inflammatory response damages the intestinal villi, impairing nutrient absorption.
• Symptoms: Weight loss, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, and other symptoms.

MALABSORPTION

• Definition: An inability to absorb sufficient nutrients from food. Often presents with diarrhea, characteristically bulky, frothy, greasy, and pale or clay-colored stool (steatorrhea).
• Causes: Various causes include lymphatic obstruction (e.g., damage from surgery or inflammation), inflammatory conditions like celiac disease or IBD, or parasitic or bacterial infections obstructing the intestines, among others.