mallory weiss tear - Health Topics
Mallory Weiss tear is a split in the inner layer of your esophagus caused by forceful vomiting, retching or straining. Symptoms, including vomiting blood and dark, sticky stools, require an immediate medical evaluation to assess their severity. Mallory-Weiss syndrome is characterized by a longitudinal laceration or tear at the esophagogastric junction, which is usually associated with forceful or prolonged vomiting or retching.
Understanding the Context
The lacerations often lead to bleeding from a submucosal arterial plexus. Your esophagus is the tube that carries food from your throat to your stomach. It plays a vital role in digestion. Sometimes, violent coughing or vomiting can tear the tissue of your lower esophagus and it can start to bleed.
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The condition is called a Mallory-Weiss tear. Mallory–Weiss syndrome is a condition where high intra-abdominal pressures causes laceration and bleeding of the mucosa called Mallory-Weiss tears. [1] Additionally, Mallory–Weiss syndrome is one of the most common causes of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, counting of around 1-15% of all cases in adults and less than 5% in children. Mallory-Weiss syndrome occurs when strong pressure in your abdomen tears the tissue in your lower esophagus. The most common cause of Mallory-Weiss tears is frequent or violent vomiting...
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Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS) is one of the common causes of acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, characterized by the presence of longitudinal superficial mucosal lacerations (Mallory-Weiss tears). Mallory–Weiss syndrome (MWS) is a condition characterised by non-transmural, longitudinal mucosal lacerations (Mallory–Weiss tears) at the gastroesophageal junction, frequently following forceful retching, vomiting, or other causes of abrupt increases in intra-abdominal pressure. Mallory-Weiss tear, also known as Mallory-Weiss syndrome, is a longitudinal mucosal tear or laceration of the mucous membrane in the region of the gastroesophageal junction and gastric cardia. Mallory-Weiss tears are most often caused by forceful or long-term vomiting or coughing. They may also be caused by epileptic seizures or other less common situations. Initially described in patients with alcohol use disorder, Mallory-Weiss syndrome can occur in any patient who vomits forcefully.
It is the cause of approximately 10% of episodes of upper gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage (1, 2), the most common cause after variceal bleeding and peptic ulcer disease.