Abdomen
A. Sahib El-Radhi in Paediatric Symptom and Sign Sorter, 2019
The term acute abdomen refers to an intra-abdominal condition, which usually requires a surgical intervention, such as appendicitis. Visceral pain originating from the foregut is typically felt in the epigastric area; pain originating from the midgut is typically felt in the peri-umbilical area; and pain originating from the hindgut is typically felt in the lower abdomen. A young child is best examined in a parent's arms or lap. Distracting the child while palpating the abdomen is very helpful. A student or postgraduate doctor in an examination who hurts the child while examining the abdomen should expect to fail. Children with Mesenteric adenitis (MA) may present with acute abdominal pain in the lower quadrant of the abdomen mimicking appendicitis, but pain is more diffuse in MA. Children typically have a longer history of pain, greater systemic effect, high fever, more generalized tenderness and absent bowel sounds.
The abdomen
Kevin G Burnand, John Black, Steven A Corbett, William EG Thomas in Browse’s Introduction to the Symptoms & Signs of Surgical Disease, 2014
The abdomen contains the stomach, duodenum, small and large bowel, liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, uterus, bladder, aorta and vena cava and, in females, the uterus, ovaries and Fallopian tubes. This relatively small cavity therefore contains a number of vital organs, all of which are susceptible to disease or malfunction. Many are inaccessible to palpation, being hidden behind the lower ribs or inside the bony pelvis. The close proximity of the abdominal organs to each other can make the brain incapable of distinguishing which organ is the source of a pain. Symptoms and signs will help to distinguish the likely organ and the pathology responsible for the pain. The full extent of the abdomen must be visible and, ideally, patients should be uncovered from nipples to knees. Many find this embarrassing and a compromise is to cover the lower abdomen with a sheet or blanket while the abdomen is being palpated.
Abdomen
David Heylings, Stephen Carmichael, Samuel Leinster, Janak Saada, Bari M. Logan, Ralph T. Hutchings in McMinn’s Concise Human Anatomy, 2017
The abdomen or abdominal cavity is the part of the trunk below the diaphragm that separates it from the thoracic cavity. Abdominal pain is a common reason to visit the doctor. The abdomen is also the site where excess fat is deposited. The possibility of disease or injury affecting so many organs makes abdominal surgery one of the more common reasons for admission to hospital. Inflammation of the peritoneum is highly dangerous because it involves about as much surface area in a pathological process as all of the skin covering the body. In thin muscular individuals the tendinous intersections may be seen as transverse depressions on the surface. Damage to the ilioinguinal nerve in the canal does not affect the nerve supply to the muscle fibres guarding the canal, because the motor innervation arises from the nerve well before it reaches the canal; it is incisions in the lateral part of the abdominal wall that may damage it.
Budding in the ascidian
Published in Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1962
Asexual reproduction in the ascidian family Polyclinidae is typically by post-abdominal budding, but in Aplidium pallidum (Verrill) the abdomen is also involved (Brien, 1925). A second species A. petrense Michaelsen is shown in this paper to use both abdomen and post-abdomen in producing buds. Trophocytes migrate back to the abdomen and post-abdomen, and constrictions divide these regions of the zooid into a series of buds of which at least the anterior few contain gut tissue. Subsequently each bud regenerates to form a new zooid. the similarity of the process in A. pallidum and A. petrense may result from convergence rather than phylogenetic affinity.
Relationships between computed tomography tissue areas, thicknesses and total body composition
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 1983
G.A. Borkan, D.E. Hults, S.G. Gerzof, B.A. Burrows, A.H. Robbins
Summary Computed tomography (CT) scanning was evaluated for its potential application to body-composition research. Three cross-sections (upper leg, abdomen, chest including upper arms) were scanned in 41 healthy men (mean age 57·6 years). Subcutaneous fat thicknesses measured at specific sites on the CT scans were correlated with the total area of fat from the same scans. For the chest and leg cross-sections, correlations were highly significant. Subcutaneous fat thicknesses at the abdomen were relatively poorer correlates of total abdomen fat area, because they were unrelated to intra-abdominal fat. Correlation analyses were performed between fat areas of each cross-section and total fat weight (by 40K counting), and the abdomen yielded the highest correlations. Multiple regression was used to predict abdomen fat area from external anthropometry, and abdomen circumference plus one skinfold provided excellent prediction of total abdomen fat area (R2 = 0·79). Subcutaneous or intra-abdominal fat areas separately were not predicted as well by external measurements. When lean body weight was predicted by multiple regression, leg lean area was the best predictor of any anatomical cross-section.
Possible Devices to Temporary Cover the Open Abdomen: Pros and Cons
Published in Acta Chirurgica Belgica, 2010
In the last 25 years increased popularity of damage control surgery and recognition of abdominal compartment syndrome has lead to a raised incidence of open abdomens. Even though these procedures are often life-saving, morbidity and mortality associated with an open abdomen remains high. Third spacing after aggressive fluid resuscitation, fascial retraction, ventilatory problems and fistula formations are problems often associated with an open abdomen. Management of an open abdomen is often complicated and challenging. The viscera need to be protected and the abdomen needs coverage. Several techniques have been described for both temporary and definitive closure. This article will discuss the pros and cons of several available temporary devices to cover the abdomen and literature will be reviewed.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Abdominal Cavity
- Pelvis
- Thorax
- Arthropod