Case XXI. Part 3
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This section is from the book "Cancer And Other Tumours Of The Stomach", by Samuel Fenwick. Also available from Amazon: Cancer and other tumours of the stomach.
Case XXI. Part 3
Table 35.-Showing The Chief Points Of Distinction Between Carcinoma, Chronic Gastritis, And Nervous Dyspepsia
Symptoms | Nervous dyspepsia, | ||
Onset Pain Appetite . Bowels . Colour . Gastric contents Physical signs | Gradual . Varies; usually increased by food Usually after meals or in early morning Frequent; in small quantity Diminished or absent Constipation Progressive and severe Progressive cachexia No free HCl; lactic acid Dilatation of stomach or tumour in later stage; secondary deposits; thromboses No avail . | Preceded by alcoholism, phthisis, or kidney disease Barely severe; discomfort or oppression After meals or in early morning , Bare .... Diminished Occasional attacks of diarrhoea Slight Sallow Diminished HCl; no lactic acid Some gastrectasis; no tumour; piles; ascites in late stage Symptoms abate | Often sudden Paroxysmal; often very severe Often absent Absent Varies Often lienteric diarrhoea Varies with appetite Moderate anaemia HCl often excessive Often absent Varies |
Unless cirrhosis of the liver is present, haematemesis never occurs. Some degree of gastrectasis may he detected, but there is no tumour, and the gastric contents are usually devoid of lactic acid. The symptoms subside to a great extent under treatment.
The term ' nervous dyspepsia ' includes a large number of disorders arising from a functional disturbance of the stomach or bowel. In every case, however, the constitutional symptoms of carcinoma are lacking : pain, when it exists, displays paroxysmal characters; vomiting is infrequent, there is no abdominal tumour, and free hydrochloric acid may usually be detected in the contents of the stomach.
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