the.com/distention
When your belly files for extra square footage after dinner.
means The state of being stretched or swollen outward by internal pressure, like a stomach, balloon, or river bank that's taken on more than its usual volume.
from From Latin distendere — dis- 'apart' plus tendere 'to stretch.' The same tendere gives you tendon, tension, and extend; distention is simply the stretching pulled in different directions until something gives way and bulges.
- not fat
- temporary stretching, not actual tissue growth
- main culprit
- gas and fluid, not just food volume
- medical flag
- sudden severe distention can mean bowel obstruction
- word root
- latin distendere, to stretch out forcibly