Gastroparesis

Overview

Also called delayed gastric emptying, is a condition of a paresis of the stomach, resulting in food remaing in the stomach for an abnormally long time. Normally, the stomach contracts to move food down into the small intestine for additional digestion. The vagus nerve controls these contractions. If the vagus nerve is damaged, the stomach muscles and intestines do not properly function. The food moves too slowly or stops moving through the digestive tract. The most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting of undigested food, and bloating.