Home > Encyclopedia of Medicine > Mallory-Weiss Syndrome

Definition

Mallory-Weiss syndrome is bleeding from an arterial blood vessel in the upper gastrointestinal tract, caused by a mucosal gastric tear at or near the point where the esophagus and stomach join.

Description

Mallory-Weiss syndrome causes about 5% of all upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The condition was originally diagnosed in alcoholics and is associated with heavy alcohol use, although it can also be found in patients who are not alcoholics. Earlier episodes of heavy hiccupping, vomiting, and retching are reported by about half the patients who are diagnosed with Mallory-Weiss syndrome. It is thought that the tear or laceration occurs when there is a sudden increase in intra-abdominal pressure. Patients with increased pressure in the vein leading into the liver (portal hypertension) are more likely to bleed heavily from an...