Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Abdominal pain is pain that is felt in the abdomen.
Abdominal pain comes from organs within the abdomen or organs adjacent to the abdomen.
Abdominal pain is caused by inflammation, distention of an organ, or by loss of the blood supply to an organ.
Abdominal pain in irritable
bowel syndrome (IBS) may be caused by contraction of the intestinal muscles or hyper-sensitivity
to normal intestinal activities.
The cause of abdominal pain is diagnosed on the basis of the characteristics of the pain, physical examination, and testing.
Occasionally, surgery is necessary for diagnosis.
The diagnosis of the cause of abdominal pain is challenging because the characteristics of the pain may be atypical,
tests are not always abnormal, diseases causing pain may mimic each other, and the characteristics of the pain may change over time
What is abdominal pain?
Abdominal pain is pain that is felt in the abdomen. The abdomen is an anatomical area that is bounded by the lower margin of the ribs and diaphragm above, the pelvic bone (pubic ramus) below, and the flanks on each side. Although abdominal pain can arise from the tissues of the abdominal wall that surround the abdominal cavity (such as the skin and abdominal wall muscles), the term abdominal pain generally is used to describe pain originating from organs within the abdominal cavity. Organs of the abdomen include the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder,
spleen, and pancreas.
Technically, the lowermost portion of the area described previously, is the
pelvis, which contains the urinary bladder and rectum, as well as the prostate
gland in men, and the uterus, Fallopian tubes, and ovaries in women. Practically
speaking, it often is difficult to know if lower abdominal pain is coming from
the lower abdomen or pelvis.
Occasionally, pain may be felt in the abdomen even though it is arising from organs that are close to, but not within, the abdominal cavity. For example, conditions of the lower lungs, the kidneys, and the uterus or ovaries can cause abdominal pain. On the other hand, it also is possible for pain from organs within the abdomen to be felt outside of the abdomen. For example, the pain of pancreatic inflammation may be felt in the back. These latter types of pain are called "referred" pain because the pain does not originate in the location that it is felt. Rather, the cause of the pain is located away from where it is felt
(i.e., it is referred to a different area).
Reviewed by William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR on 7/25/2012
Abdominal Pain - Length Symptoms LastedQuestion: How long did the symptoms of your abdominal pain last? Was there anything in particular that helped with pain/symptom relief?
Your abdomen extends from below your chest to your groin. Some people call it the stomach, but your abdomen contains many other important organs. Pain in the abdomen can come from any one of them. The pain may start somewhere else, such as your chest. Severe pain doesn't always mean a serious problem. Nor does mild pain mean a problem is not serious.
Call your healthcare provider if mild pain lasts a week or more or if you have pain with other symptoms. Get medical help immediately if
You have abdominal pain that is sudden and sharp
You also have pain in your chest, neck or shoulder
You're vomiting blood or have blood in your stool
Your abdomen is stiff, hard and tender to touch
You can't move your bowels, especially if you're also vomiting
SOURCE: MedlinePlus. Abdominal Pain; also called bellyache.
A hernia is an opening or weakness in the muscular structure of the wall of the abdomen. This defect causes a bulging of the abdominal wall. Symptoms of
Endometriosis is the growth of cells similar to those that form the inside of the uterus, but in a location outside of the uterus. Endometriosis implants
Liver disease can be cause by a variety of things including infection (hepatitis), diseases such as gallstones, high cholesterol or triglycerides, blood
Diverticulitis is a condition in which diverticuli in the colon rupture. The rupture results in infection in the tissues that surround the colon. Diverticulitis
Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer has been called a "silent" disease because early pancreatic cancer usually does
Rectal bleeding (hematochezia) refers to the passage of bright red blood from the anus. Rectal bleeding may be moderate to severe and most bleeding comes
Inflammation of the inner lining of the colon is referred to as colitis. Symptoms of the inflammation of the colon lining include diarrhea, pain, and blood
There are many types of ovarian cancer, epithelial carcinoma is the most common. Women with a family history of ovarian cancer have an increased risk of
An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy located outside the inner lining of the uterus. The majority of ectopic pregnancies occur in the Fallopian tube. Symptoms
Kidney infection (pyelonephritis) usually is caused from bacteria that have spread from the bladder from a UTI (urinary tract infection), poor hygiene,
Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease,
primarily involving the small and large intestine, but which can
affect other parts of the digestive
Gallstones are stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones (formed in the gallbladder) can be as small as a grain of sand or as large
Colon cancer is a malignancy that arises from the inner lining of the colon. Most, if not all, of these cancers develop from colonic polyps. Removal of
Ascites, the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity is most commonly caused by cirrhosis of the liver. Some of the other causes of ascites include
Coxsackie viruses may be divided into two groups. Type A causes hand, foot, and mouth disease and conjunctivitis, while type B causes pleurodynia. Both
Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the majority of patients with liver cancer will die within one year as a result. Patients
Chlamydia, a type of bacteria that causes an infection, is spread through sexual contact. Most of the time, women with chlamydia have no symptoms. Antibiotics
Though the cause of stomach cancer is unknown, risk factors for stomach cancer include diet, H. pylori infection, smoking age, gastritis, stomach surgery,
Stool color is generally brown. When stool color changes, often, an individual becomes concerned. The presence of the bilirubin in bile is generally responsible
Gas or "intestinal gas" means different things to different people. Everyone has gas and eliminates it by belching or farting (passing it through the rectum).
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) refers to a condition in which abnormally large numbers of bacteria (at least 100,000 bacteria per ml of fluid)
The spleen enlarges if it is asked to do excessive work in filtering or manufacturing blood cells, if there is abnormal blood flow to it, or if it is invaded
Modern endoscopic techniques have revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment
of diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, and
duodenum) and the colon. The last remaining frontier has bee"...
