Gastric distention is the enlargement of the stomach, and can be due to a number of causes.[citation needed]

Physiologic (normal) gastric distension occurs when eating. Distension of the upper stomach stimulates the secretion of stomach acid, while distension of the lower stomach stimulates gastrin secretion.[1] Distension of the stomach also stimulates the secretion of ghrelin.[2]

Other causes include:

To identify the cause of gastric distention, an upper endoscopy or barium upper GI imaging should be done.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Brunicardi, Charles (2015). Schwartz's Principles of Surgery (10 ed.). McGraw-Hill. pp. ch 26.
  2. ^ Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease (10 ed.). Saunders. 2016. pp. 130–147.
  3. ^ Emergency Medicine (2 ed.). Saunders. 2013. pp. 1660–1663.
  4. ^ Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine (9 ed.). Elsevier. 2017. pp. 31–42.
  5. ^ Abdominal Imaging (2 ed.). Elsevier. 2017. pp. 126–136.
  6. ^ Current Surgical Therapy (12 ed.). Elsevier. 2017. pp. 130–135.
  7. ^ Essentials of Radiology (3 ed.). Saunders. 2014. pp. 115–156.