Flatulence
| Flatulence | |
|---|---|
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| German peasants greet the fire and brimstone from a papal bull of Pope Paul III in Martin Luther's 1545 Depictions of the Papacy | |
| Classification and external resources | |
| Specialty | Gastroenterology |
| ICD-10 | R14.2 |
| ICD-9-CM | 787.3 |
| MeSH | D005414 |
Flatulence is defined in the medical literature as "flatus expelled through the anus" or the "quality or state of being flatulent", which is defined in turn as "marked by or affected with gases generated in the intestine or stomach; likely to cause digestive flatulence". The root of these words is from the Latin flatus – "a blowing, a breaking wind". Flatus is also the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. Despite these standard definitions, a proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environmental air, and hence flatus is not totally generated in the stomach or bowels. The scientific study of this area of medicine is termed flatology.
It is normal for humans to pass flatus through the rectum, although the volume and frequency may vary greatly between individuals. It is also normal for intestinal gas passed through the rectum to have a characteristic smell, although this too may vary in concentration. Flatus is brought to the rectum by specialised contractions of the muscles in the intestines and colon. The noises commonly associated with flatulence ("Blowing a raspberry") are caused by the vibration of anal sphincters, and occasionally by the closed . Both the noise and smell associated with flatus leaving the anus can be sources of embarrassment or comedy in many cultures.
There are five general symptoms related to intestinal gas: pain, bloating and abdominal distension, excessive flatus volume, excessive flatus smell and gas incontinence. Furthermore, eructation ("an act or instance of belching", colloquially known as "burping") is sometimes included under the topic of flatulence.
Non-medical definitions of the term include "the uncomfortable condition of having gas in the stomach and bowels", or "a state of excessive gas in the alimentary canal". These definitions highlight that many people consider "bloating", abdominal distension or increased volume of intestinal gas to be synonymous with the term flatulence (although this is technically inaccurate). Colloquially, flatulence may be referred to as "farting", "trumping", "tooting", "passing gas", "breaking wind" or simply (in American English) "gas" or (British English) "wind". Derived terms include vaginal flatulence, otherwise known as a queef.
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Wikipedia