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 Push Endoscopy Main Article |  Glossary |  Push Endoscopy Index 

Push Endoscopy Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Push Endoscopy article.

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis. (Many definitions of "biopsy" stipulate that the sample of tissue is removed for examination under a microscope. This may or may not be the case. The diagnosis may be achieved by other means such as by analysis of chromosomes or genes.)
See the entire definition of Biopsy

Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body.

Bowel: Another name for the intestine . The small bowel and the large bowel are the small intestine and large intestine , respectively.
See the entire definition of Bowel

Cluster: In epidemiology, an aggregation of cases of a disease or another health-related condition, such as a cancer or birth defect, closely grouped in time and place. The number of cases in the cluster may or may not exceed the expected number. This is determined by cluster analysis, a set of statistical methods used to analyze clusters.

Colon: The part of the large intestine that runs from the cecum to the rectum as a long hollow tube that serves to remove water from digested food and let the remaining material, solid waste called stool , move through it to the rectum and leave the body through the anus . .
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Colonoscope: A flexible, lighted instrument used to view the inside of the colon.
See the entire definition of Colonoscope

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease ; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies . 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Distal: The more (or most) distant of two (or more) things. For example, the distal end of the femur (the thigh bone) is the end down by the knee; the end more distant from the torso. The distal bile duct is the far end of the cystic duct, the end away from the gallbladder. And the distal lymph node in a chain of nodes is the most distant one. The opposite of distal is proximal.
See the entire definition of Distal

Duodenum: The first part of the small intestine. The duodenum extends from the pylorus at the bottom of the stomach to the jejunum, the second part of the small intestine. The duodenum is a common site for the formation of peptic ulcers. We often live with words without thinking where they come from or what they originally meant. That is the case for me with the duodenum. For decades, this writer knew the duodenum as a short but troubled sector of the small intestine. Only today did I learn that the duodenum began as the dodeka-daktulon, twelve fingers to the Greeks, who astutely observed that the duodenum is about 12 finger-breadths long. In German, the popular term for duodenum is Zwölffingerdarm, the 12-finger intestine.

EGD: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy.

Endoscope: A lighted optical instrument used to get a deep look inside the body and examine organs such as the throat or esophagus. An endoscope can be rigid or flexible.
See the entire definition of Endoscope

Endoscopy: Endoscopy is a broad term used to described examining the inside of the body using an lighted, flexible instrument called an endoscope. In general, an endoscope is introduced into the body through a natural opening like the mouth or anus. Although endoscopy can include examination of other organs, the most common endoscopic procedures evaluate the esophagus (swallowing tube), stomach, and portions of the intestine.
See the entire definition of Endoscopy

Enteroscopy: The use of a flexible instrument (a "scope") to examine the small intestine, a very long hollow tube located between the stomach and colon (large intestine) and made up of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.
See the entire definition of Enteroscopy

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy : Also known as EGD or upper endoscopy. A procedure that enables the examiner (usually a gastroenterologist) to examine the esophagus (the swallowing tube), stomach, and duodenum (the first portion of small bowel) using a thin flexible tube (a "scope") that can be looked through or seen on a TV monitor. (A great crossword puzzle/trivia term!)
See the entire definition of Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large intestines.
See the entire definition of Gastrointestinal back to top

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion. It consists of the small and large intestines.

Small bowel: Another name for the small intestine .
See the entire definition of Small bowel

Small intestine: The part of the digestive tract that extends from the stomach to the large intestine.

Stomach: 1. The sac-shaped digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upper part of the stomach connects to the esophagus, and the lower part leads into the small intestine.
See the entire definition of Stomach

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics , that part of medicine concerned specifically with the treatment of disease . The therapeutic dose of a drug is the amount needed to treat a disease.
See the entire definition of Therapeutic

Therapy: The treatment of disease .
See the entire definition of Therapy

Tubes: The "tubes" are medically known as the Fallopian tubes. There are two Fallopian tubes, one on each side, which transport the egg from the ovary to the uterus (the womb). The Fallopian tubes have small hair-like projections called cilia on the cells of the lining.
See the entire definition of Tubes back to top

 Push Endoscopy Main Article |  Glossary |  Push Endoscopy Index 




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Push Endoscopy

What Is Digestion?

Digestion is the complex process of turning the food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestion process also involves creating waste to be eliminated.

The digestive tract (or gut) is a long twisting tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the anus. It is made up of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food and other cells that produce enzymes and hormones to aid in the breakdown of food. Along the way are three other organs that are needed for digestion: the liver, gallbladder and the pancreas.

Food's Journey

Stop 1: The Mouth

The mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract, and, in fact, digestion starts here before you even take the first bite of a meal. The smell of food triggers the salivary glands in your mouth to secrete saliva, causing your mouth to water. When you actually taste the food, saliva increases.

Once you ...

Read the The Digestive System article »










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