How do different types of digestive disorders affect the body?

Intestinal disorders

Most of the diseases that affect the intestines cause inflammation of the intestinal walls. Inflammation results when some foreign agent stimulates an immune response, causing increased production of mucus, swelling, and overall disruption of intestinal health.

For example, inflammatory bowel diseases cause abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea, and significant bloating. The constipation and diarrhea primarily result from disruption in the normal water absorption patterns, causing too much or too little water to be in the feces. Other causes for constipation or diarrhea could be disruptions in the intestinal muscle contractions, either pushing material through too quickly or too slowly.

Gastric disorders

Like intestinal disorders, diseases that affect the stomach also tend to attack lining and wall tissues. For example, peptic ulcers result when bacteria colonize on the gastric lining, making it more susceptible to erosion from the highly corrosive stomach acid.

Other stomach conditions result from malfunctions in the sphincter muscles and valves that connect the stomach to other areas of the digestive tract. Heartburn, perhaps the most common gastrointestinal complaint, is usually a symptom of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), which is caused by a faulty sphincter muscle between the stomach and esophagus.