duodenitis
Meaning of duodenitis: Duodenitis is inflammation of the first segment of the small intestine, often sharing the same causes and symptoms as gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.
Definition of duodenitis
Duodenitis is inflammation of the duodenum, the first segment of the small intestine, which connects directly to the stomach. It shares many of the same underlying causes as inflammation of the stomach lining, called gastritis, including infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and long term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, both of which can irritate or damage the lining of the digestive tract.
Symptoms of duodenitis commonly include upper abdominal pain, nausea, and a feeling of fullness after eating only a small amount, symptoms that overlap considerably with gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, making the conditions difficult to distinguish by symptoms alone.
Duodenitis is generally diagnosed using upper endoscopy, a procedure in which a thin, flexible camera is passed into the digestive tract, allowing direct visualization of the duodenal lining and, when needed, a tissue sample to confirm the cause and rule out a related condition such as a peptic ulcer.
How duodenitis is built
- duoden/o Combining form · Latin duodenum
- -itis Suffix · Greek inflammation
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
Used in a sentence
Upper endoscopy revealed duodenitis in the patient with persistent upper abdominal discomfort.
Good to know
Duodenitis produces symptoms that overlap considerably with gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, so endoscopy is generally needed to distinguish among these related conditions rather than relying on symptoms alone.
Word origin
Where “duodenitis” comes from
Formed from Latin duodeni, meaning twelve each, since the duodenum was traditionally described as about twelve finger breadths in length, combined with the Greek suffix -itis, meaning inflammation.