GI Motility

Motility is movement, but the clinical question is not simply whether bowel sounds are present. Ask where transit has failed, whether the problem is functional or mechanical, and whether the patient is stable enough for a stepwise approach. A patient with early satiety and vomiting of retained food points toward impaired gastric emptying. Progressive distension with no flatus may reflect postoperative ileus, acute colonic pseudo-obstruction, or a mechanical blockage. These patterns overlap, so obstruction must be excluded before labeling gastroparesis or treating a distended bowel as benign. The same framework links physiology to safe prescribing: correct reversible drivers such as hyperglycaemia, electrolyte depletion, opioids, and anticholinergics; confirm the disorder objectively when required; then choose therapy whose risks fit the patient. The sequence below starts with the motility machinery, then separates diagnoses, treatment choices, and medication hazards.