Esophageal disorders include narrowing, webs, spasms, pockets, inflammation, reduced movement, tears, ruptures, and perforations. These can cause difficulty swallowing, pain, and other serious health problems. Treatment varies depending on the disorder.
Esophageal disorders include esophageal ring, esophageal web, spasm, diverticula, erosive esophagitis, achalasia, esophageal laceration, ruptures, and perforations. The esophagus is a hollow tube that extends from the throat to the stomach. Disturbances of this structure can be related to some type of obstruction, a lesion or an anomaly in the propulsive movements that it performs to bring down solid foods from the throat to the stomach. Peristalsis refers to the action of propulsive movements in the body.
The esophageal ring, sometimes called the ring of Schatzki, is the narrowing of the lower esophagus, which is the end that approaches the stomach opening. The condition can result from a chronic acid injury, which can cause a ring of tissue to form within the organ, narrowing the passage through which food passes. This is one of the esophageal disorders that can develop at any age, but usually appears after the age of 25 and is characterized by difficulty swallowing. Surgery is rarely needed to correct the problem, because chewing food thoroughly followed by slow consumption of fluids tends to greatly reduce symptoms.
The thin membranes that develop inside the upper portion of the esophagus are called spider webs. They form most often in people suffering from severe iron deficiency anemia and also cause swallowing problems. The cobwebs usually disappear after the anemia has been cured.
One of the scariest of all ailments of the esophagus is esophageal spasm, which is an abnormality in peristalsis. During contractions, severe pain is often felt in the chest below the breastbone. It may be accompanied by swallowing problems.
Diverticula are abnormal pockets or protrusions from the food pipe. They can cause difficulty swallowing, but this is rare and usually no treatment is needed. Chronic acid reflux disease is the most common, but not the only, cause of erosive esophagitis, a condition in which parts of the organ are inflamed and eroded away.
Achalasia is a condition in which the normal propulsive movements of the esophagus are significantly reduced and the lower ring of muscle, known as the lower sphincter, does not relax as it should. This problem arises when the nerves that control contractions don’t work properly. Propulsion-related esophageal disorders such as achalasia can lead to other serious health problems. For example, a person might inhale food into their lungs, which could lead to a lung abscess or pneumonia.
Injury-related disorders of the esophagus include lacerations, which are tears that don’t penetrate the organ wall, and ruptures and perforations, which do. These disorders of the esophagus, especially a rupture, can be life-threatening and may require emergency surgery. They can be caused by the intake of a corrosive substance, by violent or forced vomiting and even by a medical examination which involves inserting an instrument through the mouth and throat.
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