ABDOMINAL PAIN

Abdominal pain is pain that is felt in the abdomen. The abdomen is an anatomical area that is enclosed by the inferior margin of the ribs 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 (i.e., skin and abdominal wall muscles), the term abdominal pain generally is used to describe pain initiating from organs within the abdominal cavity (i.e., beneath the skin and muscles). These organs include the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. infrequently, pain may be felt in the abdomen still it is arising from organs that are close to but not within the abdominal cavity, for example, the lower lungs, the kidneys, and the uterus or ovaries. This latter type of pain is called "referred" pain because the pain, though originating outside the abdomen, is being referred to (felt) in the abdominal area.

Abdominal pain is caused by irritation (e.g., appendicitis, diverticulitis, colitis ), by extending 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 set hurdles matters, however, abdominal pain also can occur without inflammation, distention or loss of blood supply. A significant example of this latter type of pain is the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is not obvious what causes the abdominal pain in IBS, but it is supposed to be due either to abnormal contractions of the intestinal muscles (e.g., spasm) or abnormally sensitive nerves within the intestines that give increase to painful sensations incongruously. (visceral hyper-sensitivity).