Colic or cholic () is a form of
pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...
that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to
muscular contractions of a hollow tube (
small
Small means of insignificant size
Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to three geometrical measures: length, area, or ...
and
large intestine
The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the Digestion, digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces befor ...
,
gall bladder,
ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out. It may be accompanied by
sweating and
vomiting
Vomiting (also known as emesis, puking and throwing up) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose.
Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, pre ...
.
Types include:
*
Baby colic
Baby colic, also known as infantile colic, is defined as episodes of crying for more than three hours a day, for more than three days a week, for three weeks in an otherwise healthy child. Often crying occurs in the evening. It typically does not ...
, a condition, usually in infants, characterized by incessant crying
*
Biliary colic, blockage by a
gallstone of the common
bile duct or
cystic duct
*
Devon colic or painter's colic, a condition caused by
lead poisoning
Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and paresthesia, t ...
*
Horse colic, a potentially fatal condition experienced by horses, caused by intestinal displacement or blockage
*
Renal colic, a pain in the flank, characteristic of
kidney stones
The term is .
References
External links
{{Set index article
Acute pain
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