Nutcracker esophagus, Jackhammer esophagus, or hypercontractile peristalsis, is a disorder of the movement of the esophagus characterized by contractions in the smooth muscle of the esophagus in a normal sequence but at an excessive amplitude or duration. Nutcracker esophagus is one of several motility disorders of the esophagus, including achalasia and diffuse esophageal spasm. It causes difficulty swallowing, or dysphagia, to both solid and liquid foods, and can cause significant chest pain; it may also be asymptomatic. Nutcracker esophagus can affect people of any age but is more common in the sixth and seventh decades of life. The diagnosis is made by an esophageal motility study (esophageal manometry), which evaluates the pressure of the esophagus at various points along its length. The term "nutcracker esophagus" comes from the finding of increased pressures during peristalsis, with a diagnosis made when pressures exceed 180 mmHg; this has been likened to the pressure of a mechanical nutcracker. The disorder does not progress, and is not associated with any complications; as a result, treatment of nutcracker esophagus targets control of symptoms only. Signs and symptoms
Nutcracker esophagus is characterized as a motility disorder of the esophagus, meaning that it is caused by abnormal movement, or peristalsis of the esophagus. People with motility disorders present with two main symptoms: chest pain or difficulty with swallowing. Chest pain is the more common. The chest pain is very severe and intense, and mimics cardiac chest pain. It may spread into the arm and back.
Shes not the brightest of the family, but shes bubbly and kind. Patton Chase (Ryan Pinkston) – The youngest of the children, and the shortest at 410". This is a source of amusement to the family and shame to the father, and the mother is often overly-nurturing. He takes growth hormones. He is girl-crazy and his typical line to girls (and, in one episode, a guy when he was pretending to be gay to avoid being pulverized) is, "Yes I am, you likey?." It usually works, but his sisters often find it disgusting. Episodes
See also
Arrested Development – in which Richter himself played a set of identical quintuplets. References
External links
Quintuplets at IMDb