Merck Manual

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Overview of Gastrointestinal Symptoms

By

Jonathan Gotfried

, MD, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University

Reviewed/Revised Jan 2022
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Upper gastrointestinal (GI) complaints include

Lower GI complaints include

As with upper GI complaints, lower GI complaints result from physiologic illness or represent a functional disorder (ie, no radiologic, biochemical, or pathologic abnormalities are found even after extensive evaluation). The reasons for functional symptoms are not clear. Evidence suggests that patients with functional symptoms may have disturbances of motility, nociception, or both; ie, they perceive as uncomfortable certain sensations (eg, luminal distention, peristalsis) that other people do not find distressing.

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NOTE: This is the Professional Version. CONSUMERS: View Consumer Version
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