Tympany or tympanites (sometimes tympanism or tympania), also known as meteorism (especially in humans), is a medical condition in which excess gas accumulates in the
gastrointestinal tract and causes
abdominal distension
Abdominal distension occurs when substances, such as air (gas) or fluid, accumulate in the abdomen causing its expansion. It is typically a symptom of an underlying disease or dysfunction in the body, rather than an illness in its own right. Pe ...
.
The term is from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
τύμπανο (meaning "
drum"); it should not be confused with
tympanitis.
Possible causes
*
Bowel obstruction
*
Renal stones
*
Functional disorder
*
Overeating
Overeating occurs when an individual consumes more calories in relation to the energy that is expended via physical activity or expelled via excretion, leading to weight gain and often obesity. Overeating is the defining characteristic of bing ...
*
Bacterial overgrowth
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), also termed bacterial overgrowth, or small bowel bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SBBOS), is a disorder of excessive bacterial growth in the small intestine. Unlike the colon (or large bowel), which is r ...
*
Inflammation
Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molec ...
of the bowel
*
Blunt kidney trauma
*
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...
*
Menstruation
See also
*
Ruminal tympany Ruminal tympany, also known as ruminal bloat, is a disease of ruminant animals, characterized by an excessive volume of gas in the rumen. Ruminal tympany may be primary, known as frothy bloat, or secondary, known as free-gas bloat.
In the rumen, fo ...
*
Bloating
Abdominal bloating (or simply bloating) is a short-term disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. Bloating is generally characterized by an excess buildup of gas, air or fluids in the stomach. A person may have feelings of tightness, pres ...
*
Kwashiorkor
References
External links
Symptoms and signs: Digestive system and abdomen
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