#esophageal sphincter

[merlions]

Wow I was trying to guess the definition of this word and was trying to figure it out by using related words, so I was like uhmm really important? A workhorse? Transitional? Full of vital soups and sauces? Full of chyme??? But when I looked it up I discovered none of that is true and it just means boring.

Holds some pretty funny implications into the mind of the guy who was responsible for naming the anatomy of the lower abdominal organ system! "Ah yes I love the 3 segments of the small intestine: the duodenum, the ileum, and uhh idk the boring one"

[johnbronze]

Having chronic acid reflux is really fun because every day I take my acid reducer medication(s), and everyday I get to ask myself things like “do I think it might be possible to sleep lying down this evening, even though I ate nachos for dinner 6.5 hours ago?” and THEN as I’m sitting up, reading a book and thinking long and hard about the answer to that question, I let out a casual burp and suddenly find my right nostril burning with actual acid vomit out of fucking nowhere! And I think to myself, “cool! So that’s a no then:)”

[convenient-plot-device]

I hate acid reflux so so so much. "Hey you laid down on your side for too long so we gotta flood your throat with acid now. Sorry." Absolutely horrendous. You are made entirely of flesh tubes and still haven't figured out how to keep them acid-free in three million years? Embarrassing. Inexcusable.

[zorciarkrildrush]

I think watching car videos makes me crazy because I'm not trans, but the concept of getting some nice chromed aftermarket internal organs would be fucking chefs kiss rn

[burialrite]

Had the second worst medical procedure of my entire life today BUT i WAS told that it immediately turned up abnormal results AND apparently my insides did something that they've never seen happen before :D

[ricisidro]

#AcidReflux occured as I lay down to sleep immediately after eating which caused the #LowerEsophagealSphincter

(LES) at the end of my #esophagus (food pipe) relaxed at the wrong time, allowing #stomach acids, foods, or fluids travel from the stomach up into the esophagus.

I had sore throat (#laryngitis), vomiting and nausea. I felt sudden weakness, dizzy, and confused. I thought I'd die.

#acidity #AcidRefluxAwareness #GastroesophagealRefluxDisease #GERD #heatburn

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heartburn/expert-answers/heartburn-gerd/faq-20057894

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gerd/symptoms-causes/syc-20361940

[ashetheshade]

I have come to the sorrowful but honestly long overdue assessment that pepper also triggers my headaches when eaten on an empty stomach. If I want eggs in the morning, they’ll have to be just salted, I guess.

(Seriously, every time! I think, oh well it’s not *spicy* so it’s fine!! It’s! Not! Fine! Stop!)

[ryanmarshallryan]

PAUNCH PREMONITION

VORETOBER SHORT VORE STORY DAY 1

“Dude, I had the strangest dream last night that you ate me. Like full on swallowed me whole.”

“That wasn’t a dream, that was a prophecy,” he said, grabbing the other, pulling him into his maw and swallowing him up into his stomach as easily as downing a bowl of noodles in one fell swoop.

“Woah!” said the first, catching his breath and taking in his sudden change in surroundings, “This is so close to the dream! I can’t believe I can really fit in here! These stomach walls feel so funny against my palm. And that journey down your throat… what a tight squeeze but you did it! The only thing different is that in the dream, as I was squirming around like I am now, a waterfall fell on my hea-”

Before he could finish his recollection, the esophageal sphincter above him opened and let in a rush of cool water, surprisingly contrasted by the hot gurgling stomach acid and warm, clammy stomach walls surrounding him. The friend who had eaten him had decided upon needing a large, cool glass of water to wash him down with. After all, swallowing someone whole sometimes does dry the throat out a fair amount. 

“As I said, it was a prophecy!” said the friend, rubbing his gut and enjoying the feeling of its distendedness and swaying with the weight of the first who was struggling and squirming trying to find the comfiest position inside the belly. He looked down at his paunch and admired the jagged rotundness of it, somehow so round and full, yet with occasional lumps molding the sphere as its occupant tested the fat belly’s elasticity. He stretched and rubbed his hands along the stretching expanse of his crystal ball of a gut, confidently muttering to himself, “I’m a regular soothsayer.”

Featuring @Kodiak67 on grommr as the pred :)

[novorehere]

Fun fact: The section of the stomach closest to the esophageal sphincter is named the “cardia” (as in cardiac) because it’s the closest part of the stomach to the heart.

The bottom portion of the esophagus passes directly by the heart. But the stomach itself is separated from the heart by the diaphragm, which separates the digestive organs and the respiratory organs into different body cavities.

But even with the diaphragm in between, endoscopy footage shows that our heartbeats are clearly visible through the stomach wall in the “cardia” area.

Do with this information what you will ;)

[theartingace]

Horses aren't able to vomit, do you think centaurs suffer the same issue?

I have figured their digestive system as a two part system with the human stomach as the first stage and the horse stomach as the second, and looking up the ACTUAL reason horses can't throw up (intense esophageal muscles) I think the answer would be.. kind of? I think they would be able to throw up whatever is in their first stomach like any human, but if it gets to the second stomach it would get.. more complicated.

Like with medical care and certain drugs they would be able to relax the lower stomach sphincters enough to get stuff up but that would SUCK A TON for so many reasons and be rough on the human stomach as it gets hydroblasted by the mass of a horse stomach, but also probably wouldn't be as effective since I think horse's stomach muscles aren't as strong or in the correct orientation to expel contents like humans can (We are the upchucking kings)

So in short, yes - but anything beyond the smaller human stomach is TOO BE AVOIDED.

[wheelie-sick]

Explaining dysphagia

Dysphagia is simultaneously a symptom and a diagnosable condition. Most people think of it (if they think of it at all) as the choking on food disease but in reality it's much more complicated than that.

There are four categories of dysphagia: oropharyngeal, esophageal, esophagogastric, and paraesophageal

only two of those categories (oropharyngeal and esophageal) are commonly used and diagnosed so those are the main two I'll be talking about.

The diagnosis of dysphagia is a fairly complicated process involving a lot of radiological testing and things stuck up your nose and down your throat.

lost the source :(

source

the ICD 10 further divides dysphagia into unspecified, oral phase, oropharyngeal phase, pharyngeal phase, pharyngoesophageal phase, and other dysphagia which includes cervical dysphagia and neurogenic dysphagia

Oropharyngeal dysphagia

Oropharyngeal dysphagia occurs when someone has difficulty initiating a swallow. It's often accompanied by coughing, choking, feeling food stick in the throat, and nasal regurgitation. Other symptoms include frequent repetitive swallows, frequent throat clearing, a gargly voice after meals, hoarse voice, nasal speech and dysarthria, drooling, and recurrent pneumonia.

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is diagnosed with a modified barium swallow and/or a transnasal video endoscopy.

Some of the consequences of oropharyngeal dysphagia include aspiration pneumonia, upper respiratory infections, and weight loss. Common treatment includes rehabilitative swallowing exercises, botox, surgery, and/or a feeding tube.

Esophageal Dysphagia

Esophageal dysphagia is dysphagia where there is a problem with the passage of food or liquids through the esophagus between the upper and lower esophageal sphincter. Esophageal dysphagia is usually a result of abnormal motility in the esophagus or a physical obstruction to the esophagus. Symptoms of esophageal dysphagia vary depending on cause.

Motility: People with esophageal motility disorders will experience problems with swallowing both liquids and solids. Motility disorders consist of abnormal numbers of contractions in the esophagus, abnormal velocity of contractions, abnormal force of contractions, abnormal coordinated timing of contractions, or several of these simultaneously. People with esophageal motility disorders may also experience spasms or chest pain.

Obstruction: People with an esophageal obstruction will have more difficulty swallowing solids than liquids.

Some symptoms of both include pain when swallowing, the inability to swallow, sensation of food being stuck in your throat or chest, drooling, and regurgitation.

Esophageal dysphagia can be diagnosed with a barium swallow, upper endoscopy, esophageal manometry, and an endoFLIP.

Some common treatments for esophageal dysphagia include medication, esophageal dilation, surgery, stent placement, and/or a feeding tube.

Esophagogastric Dysphagia

Esophagogastric dysphagia occurs when there is a problem with material passing from the lower esophageal sphincter into the gastric fundus.

Paraesophageal Dysphagia

Paraesophageal dysphagia occurs when the esophagus is narrowed due to extrinsic compression.

The ICD 10 Classifications

Oral phase - difficulty moving food or liquid to the back of the throat

Oropharyngeal phase - difficulty initiating swallowing

Pharyngeal phase - difficulty swallowing when food or liquid is at the top of the throat

Pharyngoesophageal phase - unable to find information

Other dysphagia- cervical dysphagia (caused by problems with the cervical spine) or neurogenic dysphagia (caused by problems with the central or peripheral nervous system)

Sources

x x x

+ some others I definitely (/sarcasm) didn't lose the link to

[bazilisk]

The LES is the laziest bastard

No, not the neighborhood in Manhattan, I am talking about the Lower Esophageal Sphincter. This guy:

I'm having a new case of something like frequent heartburn right now, so in my idle moments of health anxiety I'm looking at fun facts to stress about online.

I'm coming across lots of mentions of what causes GERD (advanced and potentially risky heartburn, basically), and how it's mechanically caused by the Lower Esophageal Sphincter relaxing too much, or not being stalwart enough in its defense against its hapless human host's Bacchanalian eating habits, or against their now-medically-significant-Fatness, or their Unfashionably Tight Pants. Basically, the stomach acid shouldn't be in the esophagus, but this underpaid-security-guard of a structure lets it get into there sometimes. There are some pretty easy-to-predict things that make stomach acid worse. They're obvious if you've ever eaten too much of something that didn't agree with you: rich food, acidic food, spicy food.

But I was surprised by the less-expected mentions of several things that make this flesh ring relax too much. It's PRACTICALLY ALL OF MY HABITS:

Alcohol

Cannabis

Caffeine

Menthol (1)

Antihistamines(2)

Here is the kicker, the thing on the list that will send me into infinite stress spirals if I consider it too much: one of the things that makes this little flesh hole chill out too much is

Anxiety

ANXIETY, the mental state that is famous for tensing muscles, makes this critically important muscle RELAX. I guess the LES is just "not like the other muscles."

========================================

By the way, this post is not a request for advice - I am getting plenty of advice from sources other than Tumblr. Including, if this doesn't let up soon, an actual doctor. Thank you.

And don't worry, I am completely cutting both alcohol and cannabis out of my life right now, until/unless I can figure this out.

Footnotes:===========================

(1) (Inconvenient because menthol is normally useful for treating nausea and sore throats, 2 symptoms of GERD. Also, because I have a habit of constantly chewing sugar-free peppermint gum).

(2) (Inconvenient because they're useful for sleeping through coughing fits, which GERD causes).

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

hi would a time lord vomit like humans like through their mouth or would it be different im just curious pleasr and thank you

How do Gallifreyan vomit?

Gallifreyan vomiting is a bit different from human vomiting, but ultimately, yes, it all comes out of the mouth. Unlike humans, however, Time Lords have an added level of control.

🦠 Mild Toxins

If a substance is only mildly harmful, artron energy in the stomach probably neutralises it. In such cases, the Gallifreyan will likely never even notice, as it's processed quietly through the digestive or urinary systems.

⚠️ Serious Toxins

If the toxin is more harmful, Time Lords have two main ways to purge it:

Via the Digestive System: This is like normal vomiting, where the contents of the stomach are expelled forcefully. Time Lords can voluntarily activate the lower esophageal sphincter to make the process more controlled, but it's still unpleasant and painful.

Via the Respiratory System (Detox): For some toxins, they can perform a Detox by forcing the substance out of their system through an aggressive, violent exhale. This option, while equally unpleasant, saves the carpet.

🏫So ...

Ultimately, it all still exits through the mouth, but the Time Lord's approach to expelling toxins is a bit more versatile.

Related:

💬|🥗🍹Do Gallifreyans control how quickly their body processes alcohol?: Gallifreyan alcohol processing, its limitations, and the dangers of ginger.

💬|🥗🍲What does a Gallifreyan diet look like?: Normal eating habits of Gallifreyans.

🤔|🥗🍓Are there any fruits my Gallifreyan should avoid in their diet?

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired😴

[jack-the-nibbler]

Voretober Day 7: Hunt

On the night of the hunt, the line between the hunter and the prey is often blurred.

The sounds of howls and snarls filled the night. You had grown used to the cries of beasts and reek of rotting blood. Fear rarely came to you for the most part; the Dream wouldn’t let you die for good after all. After a few nights, the Hunt had become routine…but tonight you’d been caught completely off guard. You were running for your life from a beast you’d once considered a friend.

Father Gascoigne had been hunting far longer than you, and the years had taken a toll on him. Despite this, he’d been happy to mentor you; teaching you how to properly shoot and use visceral attacks, pulling you out of trouble, and giving you a few playful, ultimately harmless shoves. He was a large, intimidating man, but was always fairly gentle with you.

Tonight, the blood had taken him. Gascoigne had roared and charged you with his axe, nearly taking your head clean off. Your yells and pleads were met with roars and snarls, your stamina running low as you tried to keep up the fight. You’d reluctantly retaliated, but the worst had been yet to come.

After taking enough blows, Gascoigne had suddenly burst into a much larger, hairier form, with jagged teeth and claws that could slice through flesh like butter. Already worn down, you just turned and ran down the street, hoping to find somewhere to hide, or even a Messenger lamp to return to the safety of the Dream. Hearing the priest turned werewolf roar, you picked up the pace, your lungs burning. Your escape was sadly short lived.

Gascoigne proved to be much faster, catching up with you in a few bounds and pouncing on you. The wind was knocked out of you in an instant, and the beast’s strong grasp kept you firmly pinned down. You gave a strainer whimper, looking up helplessly at the unnaturally wide maw of your friend. Any moment now, Gascoigne would tear you limb from limb, or perhaps those fangs would chew you into a bloody mess.

The werewolf leaned down and sniffed you, blasting you with hot breath, before giving you a long, slimy lick up the face. You shuddered, struggling as much as you could under his massive bulk as that thick, slobbery tongue lapped over your face again and again. The relentless licking went on for what felt like hours, making you wish he would just bite your head off already. By the time Gascoigne finally let up, your hunting garb was absolutely soaked.

You laid there in a daze, head and shoulders coated in a thick layer of beast slobber. As Gascoigne grasped you like a sandwich and opened his mouth wide, you hoped that he would make it quick. He clamped down, but instead of ripping you in half, he started slurping you in. It took a moment for you to realize that Gascoigne wasn’t going to chew you up…he was swallowing you whole. You screamed as your head slipped into his throat, but your energy was spent. There was nothing you could do.

The bestial priest gobbled you down like a piece of meat, chomping and shaking you around. You weren’t sure if he was taking care not to injure you too much or if you were too fatigued to notice it, but at least it wasn’t hurting. This didn’t help the terror as you slid down the beast’s throat, tightly constricted and squished by the peristalsis. Your head was squeezed tightly before it popped into Gascoigne’s stomach. You took a deep breath, shuddering at the stale, humid air, reeking of blood and bile.

As Gascoigne gulped down your feet, your head and chest slid into the rumbling pouch. Your fleshy prison was fairly spacious, but this was of little comfort to you. You slipped further in, crammed into the literal belly of the beast. The moment the esophageal sphincter clenched shut behind you, the stomach started churning more actively, acids starting to seep from the slimy walls.

Survival instinct kicked in, adrenaline taking over your fatigue as you started to struggle, pressing against the sphincters at either end of the stomach. Neither of them budged, and the strong stomach acids were already starting to eat away at your hunting attire. As the churning pushed you around, working to easier break you down, you reluctantly realized that your only way out was to be digested. With a heavy sigh, you gave in, laying back as the acids dissolved your clothes, well on their way to softening your flesh…

Gascoigne flopped onto his side, giving a belch that sent your soggy hat flying out of his mouth. His hunger was sated, thirst for blood quenched by your sacrifice. Patting his belly, the beast rested his head upon the cold ground, content to let his belly work around his large meal. Over the course of the night, the hunter turned prey would be easily reduced to mush and nutrients to quell his terrible cravings. Come sunrise, you would wake up in the comforting safety of the Hunter’s Dream, while Father Gascoigne would be left to wonder where all this sudden fat on his belly and thighs came from…

[stonerbellybabe]

Aside from your literal perfect, pregnant looking belly, what’s your favorite part of your fat body? And least favorite?

I’m a big fan of my fat tits. Least favorite would have to be my lower esophageal sphincter; I got real bad acid reflux and if that bitch could keep it together when I go to sleep after stuffings that would be swell

[lornrocks]

Being fat means having to keep a straight face while every single doctor suggests weight loss as a possible treatment plan for your illness. PCOS? Weight loss. Hidrenitis suppurativa? Weight loss. Gastroparesis? Weight loss.

I had these problems when I weighed like a 100 pounds less so idk what y’all want from me, dudes. A lot of these problems I either had from birth (digestive problems) or they developed when I went through puberty (hair loss, cystic acne, HS, weight cycling, weird periods, pain in my abdomen where my ovaries are)

Like why would losing weight fix my hormones, or my stomach, or my skin, when all our tests show there is no discernible reason for me to have any of these problems? Other than genetics and my hormones being out of whack?

My mom, a retired physician, dead ass suggested my weight could be why I have heartburn. What does my weight haha to do with my esophageal sphincter???

Frankly we do not know how long I’ve had gastroparesis but it’s very likely it’s been causing my stomach pain, my reflux, and I think maybe my weight gain because I barely eat (bc my stomach hurts) but idk how much I’m absorbing nutrient wise if my food sits in my stomach for some 16-20 hours before exiting.