stomach tube

stomach

[stum´ak] the curved, muscular, saclike structure that is an enlargement of the alimentary canal (see digestive system) and lies between the esophagus and the small intestine; called also gaster. (See also Plates.) adj., adj gas´tric.
The wall of the stomach consists of four coats: an outer serous coat; a muscular coat, made up of longitudinal, circular, and oblique muscle fibers; a submucous coat; and a mucous coat or membrane forming the inner lining. The muscles account for the stomach's ability to expand when food enters it. The muscle fibers slide over one another, reducing the thickness of the wall while increasing its area. When empty, the stomach has practically no cavity at all, since its walls are pressed tightly together; when full it holds about 1.4 liters.
The stomach muscles perform another function. When food enters the stomach, they contract in rhythm and their combined action sends a series of wavelike contractions from the upper end of the stomach to the lower end. These contractions, known as peristalsis, mix the partially digested food with the stomach secretions and ingested liquid until it has the consistency of a thick soup; the contractions then push it gradually by small aliquots into the small intestine.
The stomach is usually emptied of its digested contents in 1 to 4 hours; the time may be longer, however, depending on the amount and type of food eaten. Foods rich in carbohydrates leave it more rapidly than proteins, and proteins more rapidly than fats. The stomach may continue to contract after it is empty; such contractions stimulate nerves in its wall and may cause hunger pangs.
The mucous membrane lining the stomach contains innumerable gastric glands; their secretion, gastric juice, contains enzymes, mucin, and hydrochloric acid. Enzymes help to split the food molecules into smaller parts during digestion. The physiologic action of mucin is not fully understood. Hydrochloric acid aids in dissolving the food before the enzymes begin working on it.
The diagnosis and treatment of stomach disorders has changed markedly with the development of endoscopy. This benign procedure permits direct examination and biopsy of the stomach and has sharply increased the accuracy of diagnosis and, as a result, the effectiveness of medical therapy. In addition, the development of whole new families of medications that reduce gastric acid secretion (such as cimetidine) and increase gastric motility (such as metoclopramide) have decreased the need for surgery for peptic ulcer disease.
Surgery of the stomach has become increasingly conservative with a better understanding of that organ's physiology. Instead of the resections that were once done routinely for peptic ulcer disease, sophisticated procedures, such as the supraselective vagotomy, that can decrease acid secretion without resection of the stomach are available. Even so, resection may still be needed for more severe cases of ulcer disease, for such complex entities as Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, and for malignancies.

Anatomy of the stomach. From Ignatavicius and Workman, 2002.cascade stomach an atypical form of hourglass stomach, characterized radiologically by a drawing up of the posterior wall; an opaque medium first fills the upper sac and then cascades into the lower sac.hourglass stomach one shaped somewhat like an hourglass.leather bottle stomach linitis plastica.stomach pump an apparatus used to remove material from the stomach, consisting of a stomach tube to which a bulb syringe is attached. The tube is inserted into the mouth or nose and passed down the esophagus into the stomach. Suction from the syringe brings the contents of the stomach up through the tube. This can be used either to remove material from the stomach in an emergency (such as when a person has swallowed poison) or to obtain a specimen for chemical analysis (such as in diagnosis of peptic ulcer or other stomach disorders).stomach tube a flexible tube used for introducing food, medication, or other material directly into the stomach. It can be passed into the stomach by way of either the nose or the mouth. See also tube feeding. Called also esophageal tube.

tube

[to̳b] a hollow cylindrical organ or instrument. adj., adj tu´bal.auditory tube eustachian tube.Blakemore-Sengstaken tube Sengstaken-Blakemore tube.chest tube see chest tube.Dobhoff tube a small-lumen tube" >feeding tube that can be advanced into the duodenum.drainage tube a tube used in surgery to facilitate escape of fluids.Drieling tube a double-lumen tube having a metal weight at one end to carry it past the stomach into the duodenum. At the other end are two tails, one used to collect gastric specimens and the other to collect specimens from the duodenum. The tube is used in the secretin test for pancreatic exocrine function.Durham's tube a jointed tube" >tracheostomy tube.endobronchial tube a single- or double-lumen tube inserted into the bronchus of one lung and sealed with an inflatable cuff, permitting ventilation of the intubated lung and complete deflation of the other lung; used in anesthesia and thoracic surgery.endotracheal tube see endotracheal tube.esophageal tube stomach tube.eustachian tube see eustachian tube.Ewald tube a large lumen tube used in gastric lavage.fallopian tube see fallopian tube.feeding tube one for introducing high-caloric fluids into the stomach; see also tube feeding.tube feeding a means of providing nutrition via a tube" >feeding tube inserted into the gastrointestinal tract; it may be done to maintain nutritional status over a period of time or as a treatment for malnutrition. It can be used as the only source of nutrition or as a supplement to oral feeding or parenteral nutrition.
Patients who may require tube feeding include those unable to take in an adequate supply of nutrients by mouth because of the side effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, those with depression or some other psychiatric disorder, and those suffering from severe hypermetabolic states such as burns or sepsis, or malabsorption syndromes. Other conditions that may require tube feeding include surgery or trauma to the oropharynx, esophageal fistula, and impaired swallowing such as that which occurs following stroke or that related to neuromuscular paralysis.
There are commercially prepared formulas for tube feeding. Some contain all six necessary nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements) and need no supplement as long as they are given in sufficient volume to meet nutritional and caloric needs. Other types of tube feeding formulas are incomplete and therefore will require some supplementation. Choice of formula is based on the patient's particular needs, presence of organ failure or metabolic aberration, lactose tolerance, gastrointestinal function, and how and where the feeding is to be given, that is, via nasogastric, gastrostomy, or enterostomy tube.Patient Care. In addition to frequent and periodic checking for tube placement and monitoring of gastric residuals to prevent aspiration, other maintenance activities include monitoring effectiveness of the feeding and assessing the patient's tolerance to the tube and the feeding. Special mouth care is essential to maintain a healthy oral mucosa. A summary of the complications related to tube feeding, their causes and contributing factors, and interventions to treat or prevent each complication is presented in the accompanying table.fermentation tube a U-shaped tube with one end closed, for determining gas production by bacteria.Levin tube a gastroduodenal catheter of sufficiently small caliber to permit transnasal passage; see illustration.

Two types of nasogastric tubes. From Ignatavicius et al., 1995.Linton tube a triple-lumen tube with a single balloon used to control hemorrhage from esophageal varices. Once it is positioned under fluoroscopic control and inflated, the balloon exerts pressure against the submucosal venous network at the cardioesophageal junction, thus restricting the flow of blood to the esophageal varices.Miller-Abbott tube see miller-abbott tube.Minnesota tube a tube with four lumens, used in treatment of esophageal varices; having a lumen for aspiration of esophageal secretions is its major difference from the sengstaken-blakemore tube.nasogastric tube see nasogastric tube.nasotracheal tube an endotracheal tube that passes through the nose.neural tube the epithelial tube produced by folding of the neural plate in the early embryo.orotracheal tube an endotracheal tube that passes through the mouth.otopharyngeal tube eustachian tube.Rehfuss tube a single-lumen oral tube used to obtain specimens of biliary secretions for diagnostic study; it is weighted on one end so that it can be passed through the mouth and positioned at the point where the bile duct empties into the duodenum. See also biliary drainage test.Salem sump tube a double-lumen nasogastric tube used for suction and irrigation of the stomach. One lumen is attached to suction for the drainage of gastric contents and the second lumen is an air vent. See illustration.Sengstaken-Blakemore tube see sengstaken-blakemore tube.stomach tube see stomach tube.T-tube one shaped like the letter T and inserted into the biliary tract to allow for drainage of bile; it is generally left in place for 10 days or more in order to develop a tract through which bile can drain after the tube is removed. A T-tube cholangiogram is usually performed prior to removal of the tube in order to determine that the common duct is patent and free of stones. If stones are found they can be removed through the tube tract by instruments inserted under x-ray guidance.test tube a tube of thin glass, closed at one end; used in chemical tests and other laboratory procedures.thoracostomy tube a tube inserted through an opening in the chest wall, for application of suction to the pleural cavity; used to drain fluid or blood or to reexpand the lung in pneumothorax. See also chest tube.tracheal tube endotracheal tube.tracheostomy tube a curved endotracheal tube that is inserted into the trachea through a tracheostomy; see discussion under tracheostomy.tympanostomy tube ventilation tube.uterine tube fallopian tube.ventilation tube a tube inserted after myringotomy in chronic cases of middle ear effusion, such as in secretory or mucoid otitis media; it provides ventilation and drainage for the middle ear during healing, and is eventually extruded. Called also tympanostomy tube.

Tympanostomy (ventilation) tube. Polyethylene tubes are inserted surgically into the eardrum to relieve middle ear pressure and promote drainage of chronic or recurrent middle ear infections. Tubes extrude spontaneously in 6 months to 1 year. From Jarvis, 1996.Wangensteen tube a small nasogastric tube connected with a special suction apparatus to maintain gastric and duodenal decompression.Whelan-Moss T-tube a t-tube whose crossbar tube is larger in diameter than the tube" >drainage tube.x-ray tube a glass vacuum bulb containing two electrodes; electrons are obtained either from gas in the tube or from a heated cathode. When suitable potential is applied, electrons travel at high velocity from cathode to anode, where they are suddenly arrested, giving rise to x-rays.

stom·ach tube

a flexible tube passed into the stomach for lavage or feeding.

stom·ach tube

(stŭm'ăk tūb) A flexible tube passed into the stomach for lavage or feeding.

Stomach tube

stomach tube

stomach

tube

stom·ach tube

stom·ach tube