mitamins111
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 Posted: 02/07/07 - 03:14 Post subject: |
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Abdominal pain is caused by inflammation (e.g., appendicitis, diverticulitis, colitis ), by stretching or distention of an organ (e.g., obstruction of the intestine, blockage of a bile duct by gallstones, swelling of the liver with hepatitis), or by loss of the supply of blood to an organ (e.g., ischemic colitis). To complicate matters, however, abdominal pain also can occur without inflammation, distention or loss of blood supply. An important example of this latter type of pain is the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is not clear what causes the abdominal pain in IBS, but it is believed to be due either to abnormal contractions of the intestinal muscles (e.g., spasm) or abnormally sensitive nerves within the intestines that give rise to painful sensations inappropriately (visceral hyper-sensitivity).
Examining will provide the doctor with additional clues to the cause of abdominal pain. The doctor will determine:
The presence of sounds coming from the intestines that occur when there is obstruction of the intestines,
The presence of signs of inflammation (by special maneuvers during the examination),
The location of any tenderness
The presence of a mass within the abdomen that suggests a tumor or abscess (a collection of infected pus)
The presence of blood in the stool that may signify an intestinal problem such as an ulcer, colon cancer, colitis, or ischemia. |
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