All of these roles can be affected by injury or disease, such as a hiatal hernia with its common digestive symptoms of heartburn, nausea, and shortness of breath. The diaphragm plays an integral ...

A hiatal hernia occurs when a small portion of the stomach pushes upward through the diaphragm, a sheetlike muscle that separates the lungs from the abdomen. Usually this doesn't cause any symptoms, ...

Plication of the diaphragm is performed for paralysis or eventration (abnormal elevation/shape) of the diaphragm which can result in breathing difficulties. Diaphragm paralysis is typically due to ...

So, there is a hole in the diaphragm called the hiatus. A hiatal hernia is a weakness in the hiatus where the esophagus passes through, allowing the stomach (and sometimes other contents of the ...

In some people, that hole is large enough that part of the stomach can go through the diaphragmatic hiatus and into the chest. This is a hiatal hernia. There’s only so much room in the chest ...