Abstract
Bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract may be acute or chronic. Acute haemorrhage from the oesophagus, stomach and upper small intestine gives rise to haematemesis and/or melaena, whereas bleeding from the lower small intestine and caecum results in melaena alone. Patients bleeding from sites distal to the ascending colon pass identifiable blood per rectum. Chronic bleeding from the alimentary tract frequently causes no noticeable change in the faeces and the commonest presentation is anaemia.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1982 M. Lancaster-Smith
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lancaster-Smith, M., Williams, K.G.D. (1982). Gastrointestinal bleeding. In: Problems in Gastroenterology. Problems in Practice Series, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7206-6_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7206-6_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-011-7208-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-7206-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive