Vomiting | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pregnancy, motion sickness, or hangover; or it can be an after effect of diseases such as brain tumors, elevated intracranial pressure, or overexposure to ionizing radiation. The feeling that one is about to vomit is called nausea; it often precedes, but does not always lead to vomiting. Impairment due to alcohol or anesthesia can cause inhalation of vomit. In severe cases, where dehydration develops, intravenous fluid may be required. Antiemetics are sometimes necessary to suppress nausea and vomiting. Self-induced vomiting can be a component of an eating disorder such as bulimia, and is itself now classified as an eating disorder on its own, purging disorder. Vomiting is dangerous if gastric content enters the respiratory tract. Under normal circumstances the gag reflex and coughing prevent this from occurring; however, these protective reflexes are compromised in persons who are under the influence of certain substances (including alcohol) or even mildly anesthetized. The individual may choke and asphyxiate or develop aspiration pneumonia. Prolonged and excessive vomiting depletes the body of water (dehydration), and may alter the electrolyte status. Gastric vomiting leads to the loss of acid (protons) and chloride directly. Combined with the resulting alkaline tide, this leads to hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis (low chloride levels together with high bicarbonateHCO3- and CO2 and increased blood pH) and often hypokalemia (potassium depletion). The hypokalemia is an indirect result of the kidney compensating for the loss of acid. With the loss of intake of food the individual may eventually become cachectic. A less frequent occurrence results from a vomiting of intestinal contents, including bile acids and HCO3-.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (275)

Related courses (1)

Related lectures (2)

BIO-377: Physiology by systems

Le but est de connaitre et comprendre le fonctionnement des systèmes cardiovasculaire, urinaire, respiratoire, digestif, ainsi que du métabolisme de base et sa régulation afin de déveloper une réflect

Xerostomia

Xerostomia, also known as dry mouth, is dryness in the mouth, which may be associated with a change in the composition of saliva, or reduced salivary flow, or have no identifiable cause. This symptom is very common and is often seen as a side effect of many types of medication. It is more common in older people (mostly because this group tend to take several medications) and in people who breathe through their mouths.

Area postrema

The area postrema, a paired structure in the medulla oblongata of the brainstem, is a circumventricular organ having permeable capillaries and sensory neurons that enable its dual role to detect circulating chemical messengers in the blood and transduce them into neural signals and networks. Its position adjacent to the bilateral nuclei of the solitary tract and role as a sensory transducer allow it to integrate blood-to-brain autonomic functions.

Cyclic vomiting syndrome

Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) is a chronic functional condition of unknown pathogenesis. CVS is characterized as recurring episodes lasting a single day to multiple weeks. Each episode is divided into four phases: inter-episodic, prodrome, vomiting, and recovery. Inter-episodic phase (symptom free phase), is characterized as no discernible symptoms, normal everyday activities can occur, and this phase typically lasts one week to one month.

Naive Bayes Classifier EE-566: Adaptation and learning

Introduces the Naive Bayes classifier, covering independence assumptions, conditional probabilities, and applications in document classification and medical diagnosis.

Digestive System Function: BIO-377 Systems Physiology II BIO-377: Physiology by systems

Explores the functions and control of the digestive system, including absorption, neural regulation, gastrointestinal movements, and stomach function.