Dysphagia &#8212; an alarming symptom

Anna Gadowska-Cicha; Aleksander Sieroń; Małgorzata Cak

Vol 6, No 2 (2004)

Published online: 2004-06-02

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Dysphagia — an alarming symptom

Anna Gadowska-Cicha, Aleksander Sieroń, Małgorzata Cak

Chirurgia Polska 2004;6(2):101-107.

Vol 6, No 2 (2004)

Published online: 2004-06-02

Abstract

Dysphagia refers to the feeling of difficulty in the passage of food from the oral cavity, through the throat and esophagus, to the stomach. The cause may be a motility disorder or a mechanical or a structural impairment of food transfer through this part of the digestive tract. This work describes the causes of and draws attention to symptoms that may accompany swallowing disorders, which should direct notice to various pathologies of the upper digestive tract. While the paper emphasizes the importance of the anamnesis in diagnosis, it describes also the various tests that can be of use in diagnosis this alarming symptom.