The stomach rumbles due to the digestive process and the movement of gases. The Greek word for this is borborygmi. It’s a normal process, but excessive rumbling or other symptoms may indicate a health issue. The intestines also growl, but the sound is muffled by soft tissues.
The stomach rumbles due to the physiological processes involved in digesting food and pushing it through the intestinal tract. The stomach is an incredibly muscular organ that contracts frequently to help circulate digestive juices. When the stomach is empty, these juices rush with the gases generated during the digestion process, generating a characteristic growl; the noise is also caused by the stomach walls touching each other.
The growling stomach problem was of such interest to the Greeks that they developed a word to describe it: borborygmi, meaning “growl.” Individuals may occasionally hear medical professionals refer to grumbling as a more polite term for stomach growling. As a general rule, these sounds are not a cause for concern, as they are simply part of the natural digestive process. The stomach never completely ceases its digestive work; in fact, the digestive juices continue to function even after death.
The intestines also growl, although people may not hear it because the body’s soft tissues muffle the sound from outside. Growling in the gut is also caused by digestive processes, as the body slowly pushes food and waste material to its final destination. If a person puts their head close enough to another person’s or animal’s stomach, it’s often quite easy to hear the growl.
Often, the stomach rumbles when people are hungry, because their stomach is empty. However, a rumbling stomach doesn’t always mean someone is hungry, it just means that the stomach is empty or relatively empty. For example, the stomach may growl in the middle of the night as it processes food that a person has eaten during the day, but people are unaware of it because they are asleep.
There are some situations where growling is a sign of a health problem. People with irritable bowel disease, for example, often have noisy stomachs along with a host of uncomfortable symptoms, including cramping. If the stomach rumbles a lot, or a person experiences extreme cramping or other gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, they may want to see a doctor to make sure all is well with the digestive system.
It can help people think of their stomach as a carton of juice; if someone shakes a carton full of juice, they will hear minimal sounds, while an almost empty carton will be quite loud.
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