Essential Facts on Gastrointestinal Pathology and Disease Mechanisms

Esophageal Pathology: Symptoms and Conditions

Key Symptoms of Esophageal Disorders

What are the symptoms of esophageal disorders?

• Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
• Heartburn (pyrosis)
• Hematemesis (vomiting blood)
• Retrosternal or abdominal pain

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk Factors

What factors are associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma?

• Plummer-Vinson syndrome
• Use of snuff (tobacco)
• Chronic dysphagia (often due to underlying strictures)
• Deficiency of trace elements

Benign Tumors of the Esophagus

The benign tumors that can affect the esophagus include:

• Leiomyoma
• Squamous papilloma
• Neurofibroma
• Inflammatory polyp

Defining Esophageal Conditions

1. What is the morphology of Mallory-Weiss syndrome?

   Longitudinal tears of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction.

2. What condition is characterized by dilated veins within the distal esophageal and proximal gastric submucosa?

   Esophageal varices.

3. What congenital anomaly is characterized by esophageal substitution by a fine, non-canalized cord?

   Esophageal Atresia.

4. What is a connection between the esophagus and the trachea or principal bronchus?

   Tracheoesophageal Fistula.

Gastric Pathology and Associated Diseases

Acute Gastritis: Causes and Characteristics

1. Acute gastritis is characterized by neutrophil infiltration.

2. Acute gastritis is associated with:

   • Consumption of aspirin (NSAIDs)
   • Nasogastric intubation
   • Reduced mucosal blood flow (ischemia)
   • Surgery (stress ulcers)

Diagnostic and Related Facts

3. The best stain for Helicobacter pylori is silver stain.

4. Radiation exposure is associated with the production of skin cancers.

5. Esophageal ulcers easily appear when mucosal blood flow is weakened or decreased, or when gastric emptying is delayed.

Helicobacter Pylori Related Pathologies

What pathologies are related to the organism Helicobacter pylori?

• Chronic gastritis
• Peptic ulcer disease
• Gastric carcinoma
• Gastric MALT lymphoma

Hypertrophic Gastropathy Variants

What variants of hypertrophic gastropathy are recognized?

• Menetrier's disease
• Hypersecretory hypertrophic gastropathy
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome

Understanding Autoimmune Chronic Gastritis

Explain autoimmune chronic gastritis.

Antibodies attack the parietal cells that produce gastric acid and the intrinsic factor necessary for Vitamin B12 absorption. This destruction and atrophy of the parietal glands prevents the proper absorption of Vitamin B12, leading to problems of erythropoiesis (pernicious anemia).

Signs and Symptoms of Gastric Carcinoma

Name the signs and symptoms of gastric carcinoma.

Symptoms include:

• Loss of appetite (anorexia)
• Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
• Vague abdominal fullness
• Nausea and vomiting (sometimes with blood)
• Abdominal pain
• Excessive belching, bad breath, and flatulence
• Involuntary weight loss

In the early phase, impaired health may manifest as burning of the mouth of the stomach, heartburn, indigestion, and abdominal heaviness.

Intestinal Disorders: Congenital and Acquired

Catastrophic Congenital Intestinal Malformations

Among the congenital malformations of the small and large intestine, which are those with serious and catastrophic events?

R: Omphalocele and Gastroschisis.

Hirschsprung's Disease: Genetic Basis

Name the genes and activity that fail in the congenital malformation known as Hirschsprung's disease.

Genes responsible for regulating the migration and survival of neuroblasts, neurogenesis, and tyrosine kinase receptors.

Parasitic Enterocolitis Transmission

Which germs that cause parasitic enterocolitis are transmitted by the fecal-oral route?

R: Ascaris lumbricoides (Roundworm) and Enterobius vermicularis (Pinworms/Oxiuros).

Common Parasitic Cause in Children

The most common germ that causes parasitic enterocolitis in children is Trichuris trichiura (Whipworm).

Non-Infectious Inflammatory Bowel Disorders

In relation to non-infectious inflammatory bowel disorders, related conditions include:

• Intestinal injury related to transplantation
• Drug-induced intestinal injury
• Radiation enterocolitis
• Diarrheal disease associated with AIDS