Hairball
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use DMY dates
A hairball is a small collection of hair or fur formed in the stomach of animals, and uncommonly in humans, that is occasionally vomited up when it becomes too big. Hairballs are primarily a tight elongated cylinder of packed fur, but may include bits of other elements such as swallowed food. Animals with hairballs are sometimes mistaken as having other conditions of the stomach such as lymphosarcoma, tuberculosis, and tumor of the spleen.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Cats are especially prone to hairball formation since they groom themselves by licking their fur, and thereby ingest it. Rabbits are also prone to hairballs because they groom themselves in the same fashion as cats, but hairballs are especially dangerous for rabbits because they cannot regurgitate them. Due to the fragility of their digestive systems, hairballs in rabbits must be treated immediately or they may stop feeding and ultimately die from dehydration. Cattle are also known to accumulate hairballs but, as they do not vomit, these are found usually after death and can be quite large.
Clinical significanceEdit
A trichobezoar is a bezoar (a mass found trapped in the gastrointestinal system) formed from the ingestion of hair. Trichobezoars are often associated with trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling).<ref name=Sah>Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Trichobezoars are rare, but can be fatal if undetected.<ref name="Gorter">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Ventura>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Mateju>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Surgical intervention is often required.<ref name="Gorter" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Society and cultureEdit
Although uncommon in humans, some hairballs have been reported. These hairballs occur when hair strands collect in the stomach and are unable to be ejected due to not enough friction with the surface of the gastric mucosa.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Hairballs are often seen in young girls as a result of trichophagia, trichotillomania, and pica.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2003, a 3-year-old girl in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, had a grapefruit-sized hairball surgically removed from her stomach;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed in 2006, an 18-year-old woman from Chicago, Illinois, had a Template:Convert hairball surgically removed from her stomach;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and in 2014, a 9-pound hairball was removed from the stomach of an 18-year-old in Kyrgyzstan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hairballs can be quite hazardous in humans<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> since hair cannot be digested or passed by the human gastrointestinal system, and (assuming it is identified) even vomiting may be ineffective at removing the hair mass. This can result in the general impairment of the digestive system.