Definition of Borborygmus

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Borborygmus: Bowel sounds, the gurgling, rumbling, or growling noise from the abdomen caused by the muscular contractions of peristalsis, the process that moves the contents of the stomach and intestines downward. The plural is borborygmi.

Bowel sounds are normal. Their absence can indicate intestinal obstruction. Bowel sounds may also be temporarily absent after abdominal surgery.

The word "borborygmus" has been rumbling around the English language for some 200 years. Its earliest known use in English dates to 1796. The word arrived from New Latin, but traces its way back to the Greek "borboryzein," which means "to rumble."