Regurgitation is the return movement of food from the stomach or esophagus without nausea or active contractions of the abdominal muscles. As a rule, this condition is caused by an acid reflex, blockage of the esophagus, or narrowing of the esophagus. A blockage can be caused by a number of causes, including malignancy, sphincter dysfunction, and nerve regulation.
If regurgitation has no physical causes, then it is called rumination. It usually occurs in children in the first year of life. It is much less common in adults. Rumination in adults can be caused by emotional disturbances, especially during periods of nervous tension.
Features of the phenomenon
Regurgitation is the rapid movement of gases or liquids in the direction opposite to the natural one, which appears during the contraction of hollow muscular organs. Basically, this condition is noted in violation of the muscle contractions of the stomach or heart valves, as well as in the reverse direction of the wave of muscle contraction. Regurgitation is the same belching. There is also regurgitation of blood into the atrium from the ventricles, which occurs when there is insufficienttricuspid or mitral valves of the heart.
Minimal regurgitation in children
The return movement of food occurs quite often in infants (in the first months of life). It occurs due to the contraction of the smooth muscles of the stomach without the participation of the diaphragm and abdominals. This act occurs involuntarily and most often is not accompanied by any functional impairment. Sometimes regurgitation is repeated several times in the process of feeding the baby. At six months of age, it usually disappears.
At the same time, grade 3 regurgitation can also be caused by organic lesions: congenital short esophagus, ulcerative esophagitis, esophageal diverticulum, and so on. It may be one of the symptoms of a duodenal ulcer with pylorospasm, pyloric tightness, and hypersecretion.
Rumination
Rumination and regurgitation are physiological phenomena that can occur in infants who suckle rapidly at their mother's breasts. At its core, rumination is a phenomenon that is observed in ruminants. In some cases, infants return some of the contents of the stomach back to their mouth, chew it again, and swallow it. At the same time, part of it involuntarily flows between the lips. Some children put their fingers in their mouths to push the stomach contents back. As a rule, rumination begins half an hour after eating and lasts one to two hours.
Rumination and regurgitation are analogues in the mechanism of manifestation andclinical significance. The only difference is that food does not flow out of the mouth during regurgitation. Doctors believe that the most common cause of regurgitation is a violation of the function of the dividing septa and sphincters. It occurs as a result of active muscle contraction, but is not analogous to reflux - the passive flow of fluid into neighboring spaces.
