http://www.medterms.com/script/main/hp.asp MedTerms Word of the Day en-us Copyright 1995-2009 MedicineNet, Inc. All rights reserved. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PDT Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medterms.com/images/mt_144x35.gif http://www.medterms.com/script/main/hp.asp 144 35 http://www.medterms.com/guide.asp?s=rss&k=WordOfTheDay&a=8285 http://www.medterms.com/guide.asp?s=rss&k=WordOfTheDay&a=8285 Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PDT <p><b>Dyspepsia:</b> Dyspepsia refers to a condition (<A href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=3011">disease</a>) in which there are upper abdominal symptoms which may include upper <A href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=1908">abdominal pain</a>, bloating (a feeling of abdominal fullness without objective abdominal <A href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=13145">distention</a>), early satiety (a feeling of unusual fullness with very little intake of food), <A href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=4510">nausea</a>, or <A href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2447">belching</a>. The symptoms often are provoked by eating. <p><a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10531">Dyspepsia</a> is considered a functional disease. (Another functional disease is <A href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=396">irritable bowel syndrome</a> or IBS.) Functional diseases are diseases in which no abnormalities can be seen anatomically, for example, on x-rays, or histologically under the microscope. The abnormalities are believed to be due to altered function, primarily of the muscles and nerves of the <A href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=25976">gastrointestinal tract</a>. <p>Attempts have been made to subcategorize dyspepsia into ulcer-like, dysmotility-like, reflux-like, and unspecified; however, the utility of this categorization is unclear. <p>A French writer (1862) called dyspepsia "the remorse of a guilty stomach." The word "dyspepsia" came into English usage in 1706. It was contrived by cementing "dys-" to the Greek "pepsis" (digestion) = dysdigestion = indigestion. Contrary to the implication of this derivation, there is little evidence that digestion is affected in dyspepsia.</p> <br><br><a href="http://www.medterms.com/script/main/hp.asp">MedTerms</a> (TM) is the Medical Dictionary of <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp">MedicineNet.com</a>.<br>We Bring Doctors' Knowledge To You