Synonyms
Definition
An uncomfortable sensation of an imminent need to vomit, usually perceived to originate from the stomach and occurring in waves.
Introduction
The term nausea stems from the Greek word “naus” (ship) and was originally used in reference to seasickness (Andrews and Sanger 2014). There are, however, a great variety of external and internal stimuli that can provoke nausea in addition to motion sickness. These range from alternate physiological sources, such as food poisoning or pregnancy, to psychological sources, such as anxiety. In terms of diagnosing the presence of nausea, there is a difficulty due to the lack of known biomarkers (biological indicators) of its presence. As a result, nausea can be challenging to detect without self-reports from the patient (Andrews and Sanger 2014).
Nausea is closely associated with emesis (vomiting) as it is often elicited beforehand. Some research suggests these two sensations utilize the same...
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References
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Davenhill, N.A. (2016). Nausea. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2973-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2973-1
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