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Functional gastric distress
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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Functional disorder of the stomach is a disorder of the motor and/or secretory function, occurring with phenomena of gastric dyspepsia and pain syndrome without signs of anatomical changes (A. V. Frolkis, 1991). However, L. P. Myagkova (1995) believes that reversible changes can be detected during morphological examination of the gastric mucosa (especially by histochemical or electron microscopic methods). Functional disorders of the stomach include functional (non-ulcer) dyspepsia, aerophagia, habitual vomiting, pylorospasm.
Functional (non-ulcer) dyspepsia is a symptom complex that includes pain or discomfort, a feeling of fullness in the epigastric region (related or not to food intake, physical exercise), early satiety, bloating, nausea, vomiting, heartburn or regurgitation, intolerance to fatty foods, but at the same time a thorough examination of the patient does not reveal any organic lesion (peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis, duodenitis, stomach cancer, reflux esophagitis (Tytgar, 1992). If the above clinical symptoms of functional dyspepsia continue for more than 3 months, it is called chronic.
Functional non-ulcer dyspepsia
Aerophagia is a functional disorder of the stomach characterized by swallowing air. Normally, the upper esophageal sphincter is closed outside of swallowing. During eating, it opens, and a certain amount of air is always swallowed with the food (about 2-3 cm3 of air with each swallow). In this regard, the stomach normally contains up to 200 ml of air (an "air", "gas" bubble), which then enters the intestine and is absorbed there.
Habitual vomiting occurs with hysteria, neurasthenia and is caused by neuro-reflex disorders of the motor function of the stomach to the sight, smell, taste of certain food. It intensifies in stressful situations and is more often observed in young women.
Pylorospasm is a spastic contraction of the pylorus, observed in people suffering from neuroses. Intense pain in the epigastric region, profuse vomiting of acidic stomach contents appear, pain in the epigastrium on the right is determined upon palpation of the abdomen, and sometimes it is possible to palpate the spasmodically contracted pylorus. X-ray examination of the stomach reveals a slowdown in the evacuation of contrast from the stomach, and spastic contractions of the pylorus can be seen. The diagnosis is confirmed by fibrogastroscopy.
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