What is "regurgitation"

Regurgitation \Re*gur`gi*ta"tion\ (-t?"sh?n), n. [Cf. F. r['e]gurgitation.]

1. The act of flowing or pouring back by the orifice of entrance; specifically (Med.), the reversal of the natural direction in which the current or contents flow through a tube or cavity of the body.
   --Quain.

2. The act of swallowing again; reabsorption.

c.1600, from Medieval Latin regurgitationem (nominative regurgitatio), noun of action from past participle stem of regurgitare "to overflow," from re- "back" (see re-) + Late Latin gurgitare "engulf, flood" (found in Latin ingurgitare "to pour in"), from gurges "whirlpool, gorge, abyss" (see gurges).

n. The act of regurgitate.

1. n. backflow of blood through a defective heart valve

2. recall after rote memorization; "he complained that school was just memorization and regurgitation"

3. the reflex act of ejecting the contents of the stomach through the mouth [syn: vomit, vomiting, emesis, disgorgement, puking]

Regurgitation or regurgitate can refer to:

• Regurgitation (digestion)
• Vomiting
• Regurgitation (circulation)
• Regurgitate (band), a goregrind band

de:Regurgitation fr:Régurgitation

Regurgitation is blood flow in the opposite direction from normal, as the backward flowing of blood into the heart or between heart chambers. It is the circulatory equivalent of backflow in engineered systems. It is sometimes called reflux, as in abdominojugular reflux.

Regurgitation in or near the heart is often caused by valvular insufficiency (insufficient function, with incomplete closure, of the heart valves); for example, aortic valve insufficiency causes regurgitation through that valve, called aortic regurgitation, and the terms aortic insufficiency and aortic regurgitation are so closely linked as usually to be treated as metonymically interchangeable.

The various types of heart valve regurgitation via insufficiency are as follows:

1. Aortic regurgitation: the backflow of blood from the aorta into the left ventricle, owing to insufficiency of the aortic semilunar valve; it may be chronic or acute.
2. Mitral regurgitation: the backflow of blood from the left ventricle into the left atrium, owing to insufficiency of the mitral valve; it may be acute or chronic, and is usually due to mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic heart disease, or a complication of cardiac dilatation. See also Mitral regurgitation.
3. Pulmonic regurgitation: the backflow of blood from the pulmonary artery into the right ventricle, owing to insufficiency of the pulmonic semilunar valve.
4. Tricuspid regurgitation: the backflow of blood from the right ventricle into the right atrium, owing to imperfect functioning (insufficiency) of the tricuspid valve.

Regurgitation is the expulsion of material from the pharynx, or esophagus, usually characterized by the presence of undigested food or blood.

Regurgitation is used by a number of species to feed their young. This is typically in circumstances where the young are at a fixed location and a parent must forage or hunt for food, especially under circumstances where the carriage of small prey would be subject to robbing by other predators or the whole prey is larger than can be carried to a den or nest. Some bird species also occasionally regurgitate pellets of indigestible matter such as bones and feathers.

It is in most animals a normal and voluntary process unlike the complex vomiting reflex in response to toxins. Honey is produced by a process of regurgitation by honey bees, which is stored in the beehive as a primary food source.