Gastrointestinal disorders

Stomach

One of the most common gastrointestinal illnesses is inflammation of the stomach lining. This is sometimes associated with considerable pain and eating disorders, and can cause the patient to feel very unwell. Causes of this type of stomach illness can be stress (psychosomatic illness) or the colonisation of the stomach by bacteria.

Oesophagus (gullet)

Oesophageal disorders are mainly caused by the backflow of stomach contents into the oesophagus when the pylorus - the valve between the stomach and oesophagus – does not function properly.

Intestine

Intestinal illnesses can have a variety of causes. Infections in the intestines can be caused by the consumption of contaminated food, not least when traveling abroad. They are accompanied by more or less severe diarrhoea and are not life-threatening, despite causing serious discomfort. But there are exceptions such as typhus, which still circulates in third world countries.

Inflammatory intestinal diseases caused by autoimmune processes represent a further important group.