Alvarez' syndrome is a medical disorder in which the abdomen becomes bloated

Bloating

Bloating is any abnormal general swelling, or increase in diameter of the abdominal area. As a symptom, the patient feels a full and tight abdomen, which may cause abdominal pain sometimes accompanied by increased borborygmus or more seriously the total lack of borborygmus.-Symptoms:The most common...

 without any obvious reason, such as intestinal gas

Flatulence

Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...

. It may be caused when the muscles of the superior abdominal wall contract and push the contents of the abdomen inferiorly and anteriorly. It may be a psychogenic disorder

Psychogenic disease

A psychogenic disease is a set of symptoms or complaints whose origin likely lies within the complex interactions of the frontal lobes of the brain and the system in which the complaint manifests...

. It was discovered by and named for Dr. Walter C. Alvarez

Walter C. Alvarez

Walter Clement Alvarez was an American doctor of Spanish descent. He authored several dozen books on medicine, and wrote Introductions and Forewords for many others....

in the late 1940s.