Telephone: (617) 983-6712. Fax: (617) 983-6770. www.mass.gov/dph/fpp. The Massachusetts Food Protection Program, within Bureau of Environmental Health in the Department of Public Health, strives to ensure a safe and wholesome food supply in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A hiatal hernia is a condition in which the upper part of the stomach bulges through an opening in the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the muscle wall that separates the stomach from the chest. The diaphragm helps keep acid from coming up into the esophagus. When you have a hiatal hernia, it's easier for the acid to come up. The leaking of acid from the stomach into the esophagus is called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
â August 29, 2003. A hiatal hernia is a protrusion of a portion of the stomach through the muscular ring at the junction of the esophagus and stomach. Usually, this common occurrence causes no symptoms, but sometimes the lining of the protrusion becomes inflamed, causing heartburn, belching, distention, problems swallowing, and regurgitation.