Abdominal Pain

What are the organs in the abdominal cavity?

Abdominal pain can be hard to diagnose because it contains so many organs like:

stomach
small bowel
large bowel
kidneys
spleen
gallbladder
liver
pancreas

What are the causes of abdominal pain?

Infections, autoimmune diseases, vascular diseases, cancer can also cause abdominal pain. The risk of all these are lowered by having a healthy diet. We are what we eat.

It can be even more confusing because structures that are not in the abdomen, but are around it like the skin, muscle, spine, disc and nerves can all give rise to pain as well. The nerves that give sensation to organs in the abdomen come from the same spinal segment as the bladder and reproductive organs. An issue with the bladder can cause abdominal pain even though there may be nothing wrong in the abdomen, and vice versa.

Common causes of a new abdominal pain include:

Diarrhea
Constipation
Gastroenteritis
Stress / Abdominal migraines

Causes of chronic abdominal pain that does not seem to go away include:

Irritable bowel syndrome
Lactose intolerance
Gluten intolerance
Food allergies

Causes of severe abdominal pain include:

Kidney stones
Gallbladder stones
Strangulated bowel
Perforated bowel, stomach
Ruptured appendix
Ruptured aortic aneurysm

What does the location of the abdominal pain mean?

Abdominal pain that is everywhere and not really at one spot may be due to :

Gastroenteritis / stomach flu
irritable bowel syndrome
ruptured appendix and bowel
constipation
diarrhea

Pain that is lower down in the abdomen may be due to:

Appendicitis
Bowel obstruction
Torsion of the ovary
Ectopic pregnancy
Fibroids
Endometriosis
Pelvic inflammatory disease
Ovarian cysts
Urinary infection

Pain in the upper part of the abdomen may be due to:

Gastric reflux
Gastric ulcer
Heart attack
Gallstones
Lung infection

Pain in the center may be due to:

appendicitis
stomach flu
poisons
vascular diseases
autoimmune diseases

When should I see a doctor?

You should seek medical attention if you:

Cough, vomit or pass blood in your stools
Have a fever
Turn yellow
Have difficulty passing breathing
Feel nauseas and sick (and are sure you are not pregnant)
Been losing weight for no reason
Have a loss of appetite
Have a change in your bowel habits for over a week
Have persistent abdominal pain

What tests are there to investigate my abdominal pain?

After taking a medical history and doing a physical examination, the doctor may ask for one of the following tests:

Abdominal X ray: to look for things gall stones and to see if there is free gas which signals a perforated bowel
X ray of the kidney, ureter, bladder: to look for kidney stones
Ultrasound scan
CT scan
MRI scan

Perhaps the most useful investigations to look for issues and exclude cancer will be the oesophagoscopy and a colonoscopy. People over the age of 50 should undergo screening every few years.

Pain Conditions