[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Clinical exam](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/) › Abdomen # Abdomen The abdominal exam, its named signs and the acute abdomen. 24 pages ## Exam technique - [**Abdominal auscultation: bowel sounds and bruits** Listening to the abdomen with a stethoscope before touching it, to hear the gut working and any…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/abdominal-auscultation-bowel-sounds-and-bruits/) - [**Abdominal inspection** Looking at the abdomen in good light before touching it: shape, skin, scars, veins, movements…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/abdominal-inspection/) - [**Abdominal palpation: light and deep, guarding and masses** Feeling the abdomen first gently and then more firmly to look for tenderness, tense muscles…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/abdominal-palpation-light-and-deep-guarding-and-masses/) - [**Abdominal percussion: liver span and tympany** Tapping on the abdomen with the fingers to tell whether air (hollow sound) or an organ or fluid…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/abdominal-percussion-liver-span-and-tympany/) - [**Digital rectal examination** An exam with a gloved, lubricated finger inside the rectum to check the anus, the rectum and, in…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/digital-rectal-examination/) - [**Examination of the groin and abdominal wall for hernias** Checking the groin, umbilicus and scars, standing and while coughing, to find bulges pushing…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/examination-of-the-groin-and-abdominal-wall-for-hernias/) ## Topic - [**Abdominal regions and quadrants: what lies under each** Imaginary lines divide the abdomen into four quadrants or nine regions, so you can say where it…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/abdominal-regions-and-quadrants-what-lies-under-each/) - [**Diarrhea: acute or chronic, and its four mechanisms** Loose or frequent stools: how long they have lasted and what the stools look like point to…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/diarrhea-acute-or-chronic-and-its-four-mechanisms/) - [**Endoscopy, laparoscopy and biopsies of liver, kidney, marrow and nodes** Tests that look inside the gut or belly with a camera, or take a small piece of an organ to…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/endoscopy-laparoscopy-and-biopsies-of-liver-kidney-marrow-and-nodes/) - [**Nausea and vomiting: causes by mechanism and fluid-electrolyte effects** Feeling sick and throwing up can come from the gut, the brain, the inner ear, pregnancy or the…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/nausea-and-vomiting-causes-by-mechanism-and-fluid-electrolyte-effects/) ## Syndrome - [**Acute abdomen and peritoneal irritation** Severe, recent abdominal pain that may need urgent surgery; the exam looks for signs that the…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/acute-abdomen-and-peritoneal-irritation/) - [**Bowel obstruction syndrome** Bowel contents cannot move forward: colicky pain, vomiting, a swollen belly and no passing of…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/bowel-obstruction-syndrome/) - [**Jaundice: prehepatic, hepatic and posthepatic** Yellow skin and eyes from too much bilirubin; the color of the urine and stool helps show where…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/jaundice-prehepatic-hepatic-and-posthepatic/) - [**Portal hypertension and the signs of chronic liver disease** When blood cannot flow well through the liver, pressure in the portal vein rises: varices…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/portal-hypertension-and-the-signs-of-chronic-liver-disease/) - [**Upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding** Bleeding in the gut: vomiting blood, black stools or red blood from the rectum](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/upper-and-lower-gastrointestinal-bleeding/) ## Maneuver - [**Ascites: shifting dullness and fluid wave** Maneuvers to tell whether a swollen abdomen holds free fluid: the dull note moves with position…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/ascites-shifting-dullness-and-fluid-wave/) - [**Palpation of the liver and spleen** Techniques to feel the edge of the liver and spleen under the ribs as the patient breathes in…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/palpation-of-the-liver-and-spleen/) ## 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…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/costovertebral-angle-tenderness/) - [**Courvoisier sign** In someone with jaundice, a large gallbladder that can be felt and does not hurt points to a…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/courvoisier-sign/) - [**Cullen and Grey Turner signs** Bruising around the umbilicus (Cullen) or on the flanks (Grey Turner) that points to blood…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/cullen-and-grey-turner-signs/) - [**McBurney point** A spot in the lower right abdomen; marked pain when it is pressed suggests appendicitis](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/mcburney-point/) - [**Murphy sign** Pressing below the right ribs while the patient breathes in deeply makes the pain cut the breath…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/murphy-sign/) - [**Rebound tenderness (Blumberg sign)** It hurts more when the hand is lifted suddenly than when it presses the abdomen: a sign that the…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/rebound-tenderness/) - [**Rovsing, psoas and obturator signs** Three maneuvers that look for pain at a distance or on moving the right hip; they raise…](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/rovsing-psoas-and-obturator-signs/) ## A to Z - [A](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/a/) - [B](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/b/) - [C](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/c/) - [D](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/d/) - [E](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/e/) - [F](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/f/) - [G](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/g/) - [H](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/h/) - [I](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/i/) - [J](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/j/) - [K](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/k/) - [L](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/l/) - [M](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/m/) - [N](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/n/) - [O](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/o/) - [P](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/p/) - [R](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/r/) - [S](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/s/) - [T](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/t/) - [U](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/u/) - [V](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/v/) - [W](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/a-z/w/) [← Clinical examination](https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/) 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. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/areas/abdomen/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/clinical-exam/areas/abdomen/