Abdomen
The abdominal exam, its named signs and the acute abdomen.
24 pages
Exam technique
- Abdominal auscultation: bowel sounds and bruitsListening to the abdomen with a stethoscope before touching it, to hear the gut working and any…
- Abdominal inspectionLooking at the abdomen in good light before touching it: shape, skin, scars, veins, movements…
- Abdominal palpation: light and deep, guarding and massesFeeling the abdomen first gently and then more firmly to look for tenderness, tense muscles…
- Abdominal percussion: liver span and tympanyTapping on the abdomen with the fingers to tell whether air (hollow sound) or an organ or fluid…
- Digital rectal examinationAn exam with a gloved, lubricated finger inside the rectum to check the anus, the rectum and, in…
- Examination of the groin and abdominal wall for herniasChecking the groin, umbilicus and scars, standing and while coughing, to find bulges pushing…
Topic
- Abdominal regions and quadrants: what lies under eachImaginary lines divide the abdomen into four quadrants or nine regions, so you can say where it…
- Diarrhea: acute or chronic, and its four mechanismsLoose or frequent stools: how long they have lasted and what the stools look like point to…
- Endoscopy, laparoscopy and biopsies of liver, kidney, marrow and nodesTests that look inside the gut or belly with a camera, or take a small piece of an organ to…
- Nausea and vomiting: causes by mechanism and fluid-electrolyte effectsFeeling sick and throwing up can come from the gut, the brain, the inner ear, pregnancy or the…
Syndrome
- Acute abdomen and peritoneal irritationSevere, recent abdominal pain that may need urgent surgery; the exam looks for signs that the…
- Bowel obstruction syndromeBowel contents cannot move forward: colicky pain, vomiting, a swollen belly and no passing of…
- Jaundice: prehepatic, hepatic and posthepaticYellow skin and eyes from too much bilirubin; the color of the urine and stool helps show where…
- Portal hypertension and the signs of chronic liver diseaseWhen blood cannot flow well through the liver, pressure in the portal vein rises: varices…
- Upper and lower gastrointestinal bleedingBleeding in the gut: vomiting blood, black stools or red blood from the rectum
Maneuver
- Ascites: shifting dullness and fluid waveManeuvers to tell whether a swollen abdomen holds free fluid: the dull note moves with position…
- Palpation of the liver and spleenTechniques to feel the edge of the liver and spleen under the ribs as the patient breathes in…
Sign
- Costovertebral angle tenderness (fist percussion)A gentle blow with the fist over a hand laid on the lower back, over the kidney; marked pain…
- Courvoisier signIn someone with jaundice, a large gallbladder that can be felt and does not hurt points to a…
- Cullen and Grey Turner signsBruising around the umbilicus (Cullen) or on the flanks (Grey Turner) that points to blood…
- McBurney pointA spot in the lower right abdomen; marked pain when it is pressed suggests appendicitis
- Murphy signPressing below the right ribs while the patient breathes in deeply makes the pain cut the breath…
- Rebound tenderness (Blumberg sign)It hurts more when the hand is lifted suddenly than when it presses the abdomen: a sign that the…
- Rovsing, psoas and obturator signsThree maneuvers that look for pain at a distance or on moving the right hip; they raise…
A to Z
Educational content on the clinical exam; it is learned and practised under supervision. It does not replace assessment by a health professional and is not for self-diagnosis.
Representative model, for educational purposes only.