Ab Ingestis

Ab Ingestis: What does it mean?

The Latin phrase Ab Ingestis ("from ingested materials") is used in the medical field to indicate the "involuntary inhalation of food material - solid or liquid - coming from the digestive system (not only from the mouth, but also from the" esophagus or stomach ).

In non-specialist terms, therefore, the term "ab ingestis" is replaced by the "popular expression" to go sideways "with reference to the food or liquids ingested.

Pneumonia Ab Ingestis

Pneumonia ab Ingestis is famous, caused by the "entry" of bolus or chyme into the bronchial tree, and favored by numerous diseases, starting with those characterized by frequent regurgitation or vomiting (gastroesophageal reflux, esophageal achalasia, diverticula of the esophagus, alcoholism ...), up to neurological pathologies that compromise the ability to swallow (multiple sclerosis, cerebral stroke, Alzheimer's disease ...).

When the semi-digested material coming from the stomach goes up along the esophagus and then descends into the bronchial tree, direct damage is produced due to its marked acidity; By compromising the integrity of the respiratory epithelia, the damage can open the door to the invasion of bacteria responsible for ab-ingestis pneumonia (eg. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Regardless of its acidity, the inhaled material can create a crisis of asphyxia due to sudden obstruction of the upper airways; when, on the other hand, the obstruction affects a peripheral bronchus, the subject remains asymptomatic until the appearance, in the following days, of the signs of pulmonary infection and abscess.