Vomiting in Medical Terms: The Word Is Emesis
Emesis is the standard medical term for vomiting. It means the forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth. In medical records, you may see either vomiting or emesis; they describe the same event.
The important distinction is not between vomiting and emesis, but between vomiting and related terms such as nausea, retching, regurgitation and hematemesis. Those words describe different sensations or events.
Common language to clinical terminology
NCI lists emesis as another name for vomiting.
What is the medical term for vomiting?
The medical term for vomiting is emesis. The National Library of Medicine lists Emesis as an entry term for its MeSH heading Vomiting, and the National Cancer Institute likewise states that emesis is also called vomiting.
In plain language, both words describe forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth. A clinician may write “vomiting,” “emesis,” or a phrase such as “episode of emesis” depending on the style of the record.
Do not confuse it with nausea
Nausea is the sick feeling or urge to vomit. A person can feel nauseated without actually vomiting.
What does emesis mean?
Emesis is a clinical synonym for vomiting. NCI defines it as forceful ejection of some or all of the stomach contents through the mouth, while NLM’s MeSH vocabulary defines vomiting as forcible expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth.
The term is useful because it is concise and appears in medical education, clinical documentation and specialist writing. It does not by itself imply a particular disease, severity or cause.
Emesis = vomiting.
NCI gives EH-meh-sis.
NLM places vomiting among digestive signs and symptoms.
Terminology point: “Emesis” is not a more severe form of vomiting. It is the medical term for the same event. Severity comes from the clinical context — for example frequency, duration, associated pain, dehydration, blood, pregnancy or another underlying condition.
Emesis vs nausea, retching, regurgitation and hematemesis
These terms are related, but they are not interchangeable. Medical records may separate them because each describes a different part of what a patient feels or what physically happens.
| Term | Meaning | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Emesis / vomiting | Forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth. | This is the actual act of vomiting. |
| Nausea | A sick or uncomfortable feeling with an urge to vomit. | Nausea can happen without vomiting. |
| Retching | The muscular movements of vomiting without expelling stomach contents; often called dry heaving. | The body goes through vomiting movements, but nothing or little comes out. |
| Regurgitation | A nonforceful or relatively effortless return of stomach or esophageal contents upward. | It lacks the forceful vomiting action and may occur without nausea or retching. |
| Hematemesis | Vomiting blood, which may be bright red or have a coffee-ground appearance. | This is a bleeding-related medical term and needs prompt medical attention. |
Why the distinction matters: saying “I felt nauseated” is not the same as saying “I vomited.” Likewise, regurgitation is not automatically emesis. When describing symptoms to a clinician, explain what actually happened — whether you felt an urge, retched, forcefully vomited, or had material come up without force.
Related words built around emesis
Once you know emesis, several related medical terms become easier to understand. Their meanings are not identical, so the surrounding word matters.
How “emesis” may appear in medical records
Healthcare professionals may use the everyday word vomiting or the clinical synonym emesis. What matters is the complete phrase, because notes often add frequency, timing, appearance or an associated symptom.
“Episode of emesis”
This means an episode of vomiting. The phrase alone does not explain the cause.
“Nausea with emesis”
This indicates both the sensation of nausea and actual vomiting occurred.
“No emesis”
This generally means no vomiting was observed or reported during the period being documented.
“Bloody emesis” or hematemesis
This means blood is present in vomit. It is different from ordinary uncomplicated vomiting and requires medical assessment.
Best way to interpret a chart: read the whole sentence and nearby details. A terminology definition can tell you what emesis means, but it cannot determine why the vomiting occurred in an individual patient.
What the word “emesis” does — and does not — tell you
Emesis describes a symptom. It does not identify one disease. MedlinePlus lists many possible causes of nausea and vomiting, including gastrointestinal infections, food poisoning, medicines or medical treatments, migraine, pregnancy-related morning sickness, motion sickness, severe pain and delayed stomach emptying. More serious conditions can also cause vomiting.
Because the same symptom occurs in many different settings, clinicians use other information — such as duration, frequency, relation to meals, abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, headache, pregnancy status, medicines, hydration and the appearance of vomit — to work out what may be causing it.
That vomiting occurred.
The diagnosis or exact cause.
Timing, frequency, other symptoms, hydration, medicines and what the vomit looks like.
When vomiting needs medical attention
This page is primarily a terminology guide, but vomiting can sometimes signal dehydration, bleeding, poisoning or another problem that should not be handled as a vocabulary question alone.
Emergency warning: MedlinePlus advises emergency evaluation if vomiting may be due to poisoning or if vomit contains blood or dark coffee-ground material. If you are in immediate danger, use your local emergency service.
Medication note: “antiemetic” means a drug that prevents or reduces nausea and vomiting. That definition does not mean every vomiting episode should be treated with an antiemetic. The right treatment depends on the cause and the patient.
Vomiting medical term FAQs
What is vomiting called in medical terminology?
Vomiting is called emesis in medical terminology. NLM lists Emesis as an entry term for the MeSH heading Vomiting.
Is emesis the same as vomiting?
Yes. Emesis is a clinical synonym for vomiting. It is not a separate or automatically more severe condition.
How do you pronounce emesis?
NCI gives the pronunciation as EH-meh-sis.
Is nausea another word for vomiting?
No. Nausea is the unpleasant feeling or urge that you may vomit. Vomiting or emesis is the actual expulsion of stomach contents.
What is dry heaving called medically?
Dry heaving is commonly called retching. It describes the muscular actions associated with vomiting without the actual expulsion of stomach contents.
Is regurgitation the same as emesis?
No. Vomiting is forceful. Regurgitation is relatively effortless or nonforceful movement of contents upward and is clinically distinguished from vomiting.
What is the medical term for vomiting blood?
The medical term is hematemesis. NLM describes hematemesis as vomiting fresh red blood or older coffee-ground-like blood and notes that it generally indicates upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
What does antiemetic mean?
An antiemetic is a drug that prevents or reduces nausea and vomiting. The correct medicine, if any, depends on the cause and individual clinical situation.
Sources used for this terminology refresh
The definition, code and related terminology below were checked against U.S. government medical resources and NCBI-hosted clinical references. The page does not claim that Medical-Terms.org is affiliated with those organizations.
Editorial scope: This article explains the terminology around vomiting. It intentionally does not try to diagnose every possible cause or provide a treatment plan. Those questions require individual clinical context.