← Chapter 11
Medical-Surgical Nursing · Chapter 11

The Blocked Bowel: Pattern, Acid–Base and the Call

Obstruction is either mechanical — something blocks the lumen — or functional, where the bowel simply stops moving. Choose a lesion and the widget derives the signs it must produce, including the acid–base disturbance, so you reason instead of memorise. Then switch on the findings at the bedside and see the exact moment conservative management becomes an immediate call.
Step 1 — what is the lesion?
Step 2 — what do you find at the bedside?