What it means
Named after Robert Zollinger and Edwin Ellison, the American surgeons who described it. The tumors (gastrinomas) usually grow in the pancreas or the first part of the small intestine and may be cancerous. The extra acid causes severe, repeated ulcerUL-serAn open sore where the skin or the lining of an organ has broken down.Full entry in the stomach and small intestine, and often diarrhea. It is treated with high doses of a proton pump inhibitorPROH-ton pump in-HIB-ih-terA drug that strongly lowers the amount of acid the stomach makes.Full entry and, when possible, surgery to remove the tumor.
For the nurse
Teach the client to take acid-reducing medicine exactly as prescribed and to report black or bloody stools, vomiting blood or sudden severe abdominal pain.
Related terms
ulcer
An open sore where the skin or the lining of an organ has broken down.
pancreas
A long, flat gland behind the stomach that makes digestive enzymes and the hormones insulin and glucagon.
proton pump inhibitor
A drug that strongly lowers the amount of acid the stomach makes.
duodenum
The first, short part of the small intestine, just after the stomach.