| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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Your abdomen extends from below your chest to your groin. Some people call it the stomach, but your abdomen contains many other important organs. Pain in the abdomen can come from any one of them. The pain may start somewhere else, such as your chest. Severe pain doesn't always mean a serious problem. Nor does mild pain mean a problem is not serious.
Call your health care provider if mild pain lasts a week or more or if you have pain with other symptoms. Get medical help immediately if:
An aneurysm is a bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to other parts of the body. If an aneurysm grows large, it can burst and cause dangerous bleeding or even death.
Most aneurysms are in the aorta, the main artery that runs from the heart through the chest and abdomen.
There are two types of aortic aneurysm:
Most aneurysms are found during tests done for other reasons. Some people are at high risk for aneurysms. It is important for them to get screening, because aneurysms can develop and become large before causing any symptoms. Screening is recommended for people between the ages of 65 and 75 if they have a family history, or if they are men who have smoked. Doctors use imaging tests to find aneurysms. Medicines and surgery are the two main treatments.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Adhesions are bands of scar-like tissue. Normally, internal tissues and organs have slippery surfaces so they can shift easily as the body moves. Adhesions cause tissues and organs to stick together. They might connect the loops of the intestines to each other, to nearby organs, or to the wall of the abdomen. They can pull sections of the intestines out of place. This may block food from passing through the intestine.
Adhesions can occur anywhere in the body. But they often form after surgery on the abdomen. Almost everyone who has surgery on the abdomen gets adhesions. Some adhesions don't cause any problems. But when they partly or completely block the intestines, they cause symptoms such as:
Adhesions can sometimes cause infertility in women by preventing fertilized eggs from reaching the uterus.
No tests are available to detect adhesions. Doctors usually find them during surgery to diagnose other problems.
Some adhesions go away by themselves. If they partly block your intestines, a diet low in fiber can allow food to move easily through the affected area. If you have a complete intestinal obstruction, it is life-threatening. You should get immediate medical attention and may need surgery.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
The uterus, or womb, is the place where a baby grows when a woman is pregnant. If you have an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg grows in the wrong place, outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes. The result is usually a miscarriage.
Ectopic pregnancy can be a medical emergency if it ruptures. Signs of ectopic pregnancy include:
Get medical care right away if you have these signs. Doctors use drugs or surgery to remove the ectopic tissue so it doesn't damage your organs. Many women who have had ectopic pregnancies go on to have healthy pregnancies later.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
The appendix is a small, tube-like organ attached to the first part of the large intestine. It is located in the lower right part of the abdomen. It has no known function. A blockage inside of the appendix causes appendicitis. The blockage leads to increased pressure, problems with blood flow, and inflammation. If the blockage is not treated, the appendix can burst and spread infection into the abdomen. This causes a condition called peritonitis.
The main symptom is pain in the abdomen, often on the right side. It is usually sudden and gets worse over time. Other symptoms may include:
Not everyone with appendicitis has all these symptoms.
Appendicitis is a medical emergency. Treatment almost always involves removing the appendix. Anyone can get appendicitis, but it is more common among people 10 to 30 years old.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons.
There are many kinds of liver diseases:
Symptoms of liver disease can vary, but they often include swelling of the abdomen and legs, bruising easily, changes in the color of your stool and urine, and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes. Sometimes there are no symptoms. Tests such as imaging tests and liver function tests can check for liver damage and help to diagnose liver diseases.
Diverticula are small pouches, or sacs, that bulge outward through weak spots in your colon. They mostly form in the lower part of the colon. Diverticulosis is a condition in which you have these pouches. Most people who have diverticulosis do not have symptoms or problems. But sometimes the pouches can cause symptoms or become inflamed.
What is diverticulitis?Diverticulitis is the name for the condition you have when one or more of the pouches get inflamed. Diverticulitis may come on suddenly. It can sometimes cause serious health problems.
What is diverticular disease?Diverticular disease is a condition that happens when the pouches cause:
Researchers aren't sure what causes diverticulosis and diverticulitis. They think certain factors may play a role in causing or increasing the risk for these conditions, including:
Researchers are also looking at other possible factors that may play a role in these conditions. Those factors include bacteria or stool (poop) getting caught in a pouch in your colon and changes in the microbiome in the intestines. Your microbiome is made up of the bacteria and other organisms in your intestines.
Who is more likely to develop diverticulosis and diverticulitis?Diverticulosis is common, especially as people age. More than one-third of U.S. adults between the ages of 50 and 59 have diverticulosis. More than two-thirds who are over age 80 have it. Most of those people will not have symptoms or problems. But some of them will develop diverticulitis.
What are the symptoms of diverticulosis and diverticulitis?Diverticulosis usually doesn't cause symptoms. But some people can have chronic symptoms such as:
Diverticulitis may cause acute symptoms such as:
The pain caused by diverticulitis is usually severe and comes on suddenly. Less often, the pain may be mild and worsen over several days.
What other problems can diverticulosis and diverticulitis cause?Some people with diverticulosis and diverticulitis may develop serious health problems (complications). Diverticular bleeding happens when a small blood vessel within the wall of a pouch bursts. The bleeding may be severe and sometimes even life-threatening.
People with diverticulitis can also develop serious problems such as:
Diverticulosis may be found when your health care provider is doing tests for another reason. Diverticulitis is usually found when you are having an acute attack.
To make a diagnosis, your provider will review your medical history, do a physical exam, and order tests. The tests may include:
f your diverticulosis is causing chronic symptoms, your provider may recommend:
If you have diverticulitis without complications, your provider may recommend treatment at home. However, you probably need treatment in the hospital if you have severe diverticulitis, diverticulitis with complications, or a high risk for complications.
Treatments for diverticulitis may include:
If your diverticulitis doesn't improve with treatment or if it causes complications, you may need surgery to remove part of your colon.
Can diverticulitis be prevented?Your provider may recommend lifestyle changes to prevent diverticulitis:
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons. Primary liver cancer starts in the liver. Metastatic liver cancer starts somewhere else and spreads to your liver.
Risk factors for primary liver cancer include :
Symptoms can include a lump or pain on the right side of your abdomen and yellowing of the skin. However, you may not have symptoms until the cancer is advanced. This makes it harder to treat. Doctors use tests that examine the liver and the blood to diagnose liver cancer. Treatment options include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or liver transplantation.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Colorectal cancer is cancer that develops in the tissues of the colon or rectum. Your colon and rectum are part of your digestive system:
Cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer, and cancer that begins in the rectum is called rectal cancer. Cancer that affects either of these parts may also be called colorectal cancer.
What causes colorectal cancer?Colorectal cancer happens when there are changes in your genetic material (DNA). These changes are also called mutations or variants. Often, the genetic changes that lead to colorectal cancer happen during your lifetime and the exact cause is unknown. But certain genetic changes that raise your risk for colorectal cancer are inherited, meaning that you are born with them.
Besides genetics, other factors, including your lifestyle and the environment, can affect your risk of colorectal cancer.
Who is more likely to develop colorectal cancer?Anyone can get colorectal cancer, but certain factors make you more likely to develop it:
Colorectal cancer may not always cause symptoms, especially at first. If you do have symptoms, they could include:
Because colorectal cancer may not cause symptoms at first, it's important to have screening tests for colorectal cancer. Screening tests look for signs of a disease before you have any symptoms. They can help find cancer early, when it may be easier to treat.
Most experts recommend that start screenings at 45 and continue until at least age 75. People over 75 and those who are at high risk should talk to their providers about how often you need screening and what type of test they should get.
The types of tests include different stool tests and procedures such as colonoscopies and flexible sigmoidoscopy. Talk with your provider about how often you need screening and what type of test you should get.
How is colorectal cancer diagnosed?If you have symptoms that could be caused by colorectal cancer or if your screening test results are abnormal, you may need to have more tests to find out if you have cancer. Possible tests include:
Your treatment options usually depend on your age, your general health, how serious the cancer is, and which type of cancer you have.
For colon cancer, your treatment may include one or more of these options:
For rectal cancer, your treatment may include one or more of these options:
Avoiding the risk factors that you have control over may help prevent some cancers. That includes:
There are also other steps you can take to try to prevent colorectal cancer. They include:
When you eat, your body breaks food down to a form it can use to build and nourish cells and provide energy. This process is called digestion.
Your digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube. It runs from your mouth to your anus and includes your esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines. Your liver, gallbladder and pancreas are also involved. They produce juices to help digestion.
There are many types of digestive disorders. The symptoms vary widely depending on the problem. In general, you should see your doctor if you have:
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases