Skip to main content
MD
MedicalDictionary.comThe Free Veterinary Medical Dictionary
Clinical Symptom🐕 Dogs🐈 Catsgastrointestinal

Vomiting

🗣️ Pronounced:VOM-ih-ting
In One Sentence (Plain English)

The active, coordinated muscular ejection of stomach and upper intestinal contents through the mouth preceded by nausea and abdominal contractions.

Editorial Status: Verified from peer-reviewed veterinary sources (v1.0)
Updated: 2026-01-15

💬 In Plain English

Unlike passive regurgitation, vomiting is an active reflex controlled by the brain’s vomiting center. Pets experience obvious nausea beforehand—drooling heavily, licking their lips, swallowing constantly, and looking distressed. Powerful contractions of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles heave rhythmically (the retching sound every pet owner recognizes) until partially digested food, yellow bile, or gastric liquid is forcefully ejected.

🔬 Clinical & Technical Depth

For Vets & Technicians

Formal Clinical Definition

Centrally coordinated reflex process involving the vomiting center and the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CRTZ), characterized by retroperistalsis, forceful abdominal wall contraction, increased intragastric pressure, and expulsion of gastric contents.

Why Veterinarians Use It

Veterinarians assess vomiting to differentiate self-limiting dietary indiscretion from surgical intestinal obstructions, pancreatitis, toxins, or systemic metabolic disease.

Clinical Context Encountered

One of the most ubiquitous complaints in veterinary medicine, ranging from simple grass eating to life-threatening linear foreign bodies.

Clinical Reference Guide (Clinical Symptom)

Urgency Level

🚨 Red Flag Warnings (When to Contact an Emergency Vet)
  • •Unproductive retching (gagging without bringing anything up) in a deep-chested dog is a primary symptom of GDV (bloat) and requires immediate emergency surgery.
  • •Vomiting accompanied by inability to keep water down, severe lethargy, or a tense painful abdomen suggests an intestinal obstruction or acute pancreatitis.

❓ Questions to Ask Your Veterinarian

Take these actionable questions with you to your next clinic visit or appointment:

  • 1Is my pet vomiting actively, or could this be passive esophageal regurgitation?
  • 2Do abdominal X-rays or ultrasound show signs of a foreign body obstruction or intestinal plication?
  • 3Is my pet dehydrated, and are electrolytes (potassium, chloride) normal?
  • 4Can an injectable antiemetic like maropitant (Cerenia) be administered safely once obstruction is ruled out?

Academic & Clinical References