Medycyna Wet. 66 (10), 668-671, 2010

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Romański K.
Course, incidence, and causes of nausea and vomiting in animals
The vomiting syndrome is composed of three various and sometimes independent stages. The first is called nausea and represents the initial stage of the whole process usually terminated with vomiting. The symptoms of nausea are rather untypical and a change in the heart rate and respiration rhythm as well as the pallor and dilation of papilla are sufficient, clear and measurable phenomena in animals enabling the recognition of nausea. There is no such a problem in humans. The second stage is retching. During retching some symptoms and patient behavior are similar but there are interrupted spontaneous contractions of the abdominal muscles and diaphragm, and this stage most often lasts a short period and directly precedes vomiting. The third stage, vomiting is linked with the expulsion of gastric content, also inflowing there from the small bowel. Human beings and dogs are the most susceptible species for vomiting. There are many causes triggering nausea, retching and vomiting. Diseases represent most of them. The first group are various diseases of the central nervous system and in its periphery. These diseases can be of a metabolic, infectious, surgical, allergical or dietetical nature. Drugs and other chemicals represent the second group. Other causes are foreign bodies, disturbances of body homeostasis, neoplasia or inflammations. Antiemetic drugs can act centrally or peripherally and are capable of eliminating the cause or attenuating some symptoms. There are some events resembling the vomiting process among which regurgitation is the most similar one.