You searched for: “flatulence
flatulence (s) (noun), flatulences (pl)
1. Excessive gas, or air, in the stomach and intestines: Kitty had a very uncomfortable feeling in her abdomen and her doctor said that it was a case of flatulence, or the accumulation of gas, in her intestine.
2. The production of a mixture of gases or air in the digestive tract of mammals or other animals that are byproducts of the digestion process: When expelled from the body, flatulences can be very smelly and frequently occur with noise.

Such a mixture of gases is known as "flatus", and is expelled from the rectum in a process colloquially referred to as "passing gas".

Under certain circumstances, food particles from the small intestine may pass undigested through the large intestine (the area where the fermentation process is facilitated). When the bacteria present in the colon attacks these undigested materials, the resulting gas gives the flatus its characteristic odor.

Causes of Stomach and Intestinal Gas

  • Excessive belching which takes in more air than is expelled.
  • Consumption of abnormal amounts of carbonated beverages.
  • Swallowing air while eating.
  • Bacterial action on ingested foods.
  • Air which is swallowed and forced into the intestinal tract by peristalsis (wavelike muscular contractions in organs of the digestive system, such as the esophagus and the intestines).

"Peristalsis" is characterized by alternate contraction and relaxation, which pushes ingested food through the digestive tract towards its release at the anus.

This entry is located in the following unit: flat-, flatu- (page 1)