DICTIONARY

Medicines that relieve long-term constipation. Also called cathartics.

A cleaning of the stomach and colon that uses a special drink and enemas. See bowel prep.

The spasm of the muscles of the larynx, resulting in airway constriction.

The part of the intestine that includes the appendix, cecum, colon, and rectum. The large intestine absorbs water from stool and changes it from a liquid to a solid form. The large intestine is 5 feet long.

An operation that opens up the abdomen.

A procedure that uses a laparoscope to look at and take tissue from the inside of the body.

An operation to remove the gallbladder. The doctor inserts a laparoscope and other surgical instruments through small holes made in the abdomen. The camera allows the doctor to see the gallbladder on a television screen. The doctor removes the gallbladder ...

A thin tube with a tiny video camera attached that is used to look inside the body to view the surface of organs. See endoscope

The thin layer of areolar connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves that lie just below the epithelium.

A test for lactase deficiency. The patient drinks a liquid that contains milk sugar. Then the patient

Being unable to digest lactose, the sugar in milk. This condition occurs when the body cannot produce lactase.

The sugar found in milk. The body breaks lactose down into galactose and glucose.

A lack of the lactase enzyme, causing lactose intolerance.

An enzyme in the small intestine needed to digest milk sugar (lactose).

Cells that line the liver. These cells remove waste such as bacteria from the blood.