Gastrointestinal tract

The gastrointestinal tract, also known as the gut or alimentary canal, is a tube by which bilaterian animals (including humans) transfer food to the digestion organs. In large bilaterians, the gastrointestinal tract generally also has an exit, the anus, by which the animal disposes of solid wastes. Some small bilaterians have no anus and dispose of solid wastes by other means (for example, through the mouth).

Animals that have gastrointestinal tracts are classified as either protostomes or deuterostomes. The digestive tract evolved separately in these two clades, an example of convergent evolution. The clades are distinguished based on their embryonic development: protostomes develop their mouths first, while deuterostomes develop their mouths second. Protostomes include arthropods, molluscs, and annelids, while deuterostomes include echinoderms and chordates.

The gastrointestinal tract contains thousands of different bacteria, but humans can be divided into three main groups based on those most prominent in the human gastrointestinal tract.

Traditional medicine

Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous or folk medicine) comprises knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as "the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness."

In some Asian and African countries, up to 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. When adopted outside of its traditional culture, traditional medicine is often called alternative medicine. Practices known as traditional medicines include Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, Unani, ancient Iranian medicine, Irani, Islamic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Korean medicine, acupuncture, Muti, Ifá, and traditional African medicine. Core disciplines which study traditional medicine include herbalism, ethnomedicine, ethnobotany, and medical anthropology.

Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease, also known as Crohn syndrome and regional enteritis, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus.Signs and symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, and weight loss. Other complications may occur outside the gastrointestinal tract and include anemia, skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, and tiredness. The skin rashes may be due to infections as well as pyoderma gangrenosum or erythema nodosum. Bowel obstruction also commonly occurs and those with the disease are at greater risk of bowel cancer.

Crohn's disease is caused by a combination of environmental, immune and bacterial factors in genetically susceptible individuals. It results in a chronic inflammatory disorder, in which the body's immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract possibly directed at microbial antigens. While Crohn's is an immune related disease, it does not appear to be an autoimmune disease (in that the immune system is not being triggered by the body itself). The exact underlying immune problem is not clear; however, it may be an immunodeficiency state. About half of the overall risk is related to genetics with more than 70 genes found to be involved. Tobacco smokers are two times more likely to develop Crohn's disease than nonsmokers. It also often begins after gastroenteritis. Diagnosis is based on a number of findings including biopsy and appearance of the bowel wall, medical imaging and description of the disease. Other conditions that can present similarly include irritable bowel syndrome and Behçet's disease.

Lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance is the inability of adults and children to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and to a lesser extent dairy products, causing side effects. It is due to a lactase deficiency, or hypolactasia. In some (rare) cases, individuals have congenital alactasia, a total absence of lactase caused by a genetic defect, which prevents them from being able to digest lactose from infancy.

Lactose intolerant individuals have insufficient levels of lactase, an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of lactose into glucose and galactose, in their digestive system. In most cases, this causes symptoms which may include abdominal bloating and cramps, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, borborygmi (rumbling stomach), or vomiting after consuming significant amounts of lactose. It is common for patients with inflammatory bowel disease to experience gastrointestinal symptoms after lactose ingestion, although the prevalence of lactase deficiency in this population has not been well studied.

Problems

Problems may refer to:

This word also refers to a specific person with major problems named "Ary"