Text A. Gastric and Duodenal Ulcers

.The Soviet scientists N. Burdenko, L. Koreisha, A. Speransky and B. Mogilnitsky proved the existence of an association between a lesion of the central and peripheral nervous systems and the development of ulcer.

201The neurogenous theory of the pathogenesis of ulcer was developed further into the corticovisceral theory by K. Bykov and I. Kurtsin. According to this theory gastric and duodenal ulcers were found to result from disturbances in the central nervous system, i.e. the brain cortex.

The brain cortex under the influence of external and internal stimuli sends impulses to the stomach and the duodenum, which cause a spastic contraction of vessels. Such a spastic contraction results in local trophic disturbances fol­lowed by erosion of the affected area by the gastric juice.

In the majority of cases ulcer is observed to develop in particularly nervous persons, often after emotional overstrain. But an irregular diet in combination with an emotional overstrain is often observed to contribute to the onset of ulcer development.

Gastric and duodenal ulcers are found to develop more frequently in men than in women, mainly at ages of 25 to 40 years. This disease is characterized by pains, haemorrhages, nausea, vomiting, etc[At the onset of the disease pain is usually dull in character. In gastric ulcers pain is found to grow worse after meals. Acute pain in the stomach is known to be characteristic of perforated ulcers. Pain due to ulcer is well known to occur periodically and be intermittent in occurrence.

The course of ulcer has proved to vary with age and sex, location of ulcers, etc. At a young age its course has no characteristic clinical manifestations. In old persons the incidence of ulcers is known to be rare. But they are often com­plicated by considerable haemorrhage resulting from sclerotic changes in the stomach.

Ulcers are known to have a chronic, cyclic course, with remissions from 6 to 12 months. Exacerbation (обострение) of ulcers, particularly that of duode­nal ulcers, has been found to occur in spring and autumn.

VII.* Закончите следующие предложения в соответствии с содер­жанием текста А:

1. Patients with perforated ulcers are known to complain of... (a) an acute pain in the stomach; 6) a sharp pain in the substernal area radiating to the shoul­der) 2. In old persons ulcers are complicated by haemorrhage which is due to... (a) sclerotic changes in the stomach; 6) an irregular diet in combination with a nervous overstrain) 3. According to corticovisceral theory the development of ulcer is associated with... (a) disturbances in the blood supply of the brain; 6) the lesions of the central and peripheral nervous systems)

VIII. Прочитайте следующие сообщения и запомните факты, о ко­торых в них говорится:

Do you know that

1. the movement of food in the intestines of a healthy person may last from 12 to 72 hours; 2. milk products contain about 100 substances useful for men; 3. salt consists of two poisons, which are combined chemically in such a way that we can eat it; 4. the amount of gastric juice secreted in the stomach within 24 hours is 1.5-2 litres.