This study is aimed at detecting gastrointestinal sounds (GIS) and correlating their characteristics with gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. The central hypotheses are that GIS generation depends on the motility patterns and the mechanical properties of the gut, and that changes in those result in measurable differences in GIS. An animal model which included both healthy rats and those with small bowel obstruction (SBO) was developed. The acoustic bursts of GIS were detected by amplitude thresholding the signal envelope. Three methods of envelope estimation were proposed and evaluated. Envelope estimation using a Hilbert transform was found to produce the best results in the current application. The duration and dominant frequency of each detected GIS event was estimated and clear differences between healthy and diseased rats were discovered. In the control state, GIS events were found to consistently be of relatively short duration (3-65 ms). Although the majority of events in the SBO state had similar short duration, infrequent longer events were also detected and appeared to be pathognomonic. Long duration events (> 100 ms) occurred in each of seven obstructed, but in none of 14 non-obstructed, cases (p < 0.001). It is concluded that GIS analysis may prove useful in the non-invasive, rapid, and accurate diagnosis of SBO.