Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or the entire abdomen may be tender. Complications may include shock and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. Injuries to humans can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or overexertion. Injuries can occur in any part of the body, and different symptoms are associated with different injuries.
The celiac plexus, also known as the solar plexus because of its radiating nerve fibers, is a complex network of nerves located in the abdomen, near where the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, and renal arteries branch from the abdominal aorta. It is behind the stomach and the omental bursa, and in front of the crura of the diaphragm, on the level of the first lumbar vertebra.
Major trauma is any injury that has the potential to cause prolonged disability or death. There are many causes of major trauma, blunt and penetrating, including falls, motor vehicle collisions, stabbing wounds, and gunshot wounds. Depending on the severity of injury, quickness of management, and transportation to an appropriate medical facility may be necessary to prevent loss of life or limb. The initial assessment is critical, and involves a physical evaluation and also may include the use of imaging tools to determine the types of injuries accurately and to formulate a course of treatment.
Gastrointestinal perforation, also known as ruptured bowel, is a hole in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tract includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and tenderness. A major complication is sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection which may include an increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, fever, and confusion.
Flail chest is a life-threatening medical condition that occurs when a segment of the rib cage breaks due to trauma and becomes detached from the rest of the chest wall. Two of the symptoms of flail chest are chest pain and shortness of breath.
Athletic pubalgia, also called sports hernia, core injury, hockey hernia, hockey groin, Gilmore's groin, or groin disruption, is a medical condition of the pubic joint affecting athletes.
A splenic injury, which includes a ruptured spleen, is any injury to the spleen. The rupture of a normal spleen can be caused by trauma, such as a traffic collision.
Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, describes a physical trauma due to a forceful impact without penetration of the body's surface. Blunt trauma stands in contrast with penetrating trauma, which occurs when an object pierces the skin, enters body tissue, and creates an open wound. Blunt trauma occurs due to direct physical trauma or impactful force to a body part. Such incidents often occur with road traffic collisions, assaults, sports-related injuries, and are notably common among the elderly who experience falls.
Focused assessment with sonography in trauma is a rapid bedside ultrasound examination performed by surgeons, emergency physicians, and paramedics as a screening test for blood around the heart or abdominal organs (hemoperitoneum) after trauma. There is also the extended FAST (eFAST) which includes some additional ultrasound views to assess for pneumothorax.
Blunt splenic trauma occurs when a significant impact to the spleen from some outside source damages or ruptures the spleen. Treatment varies depending on severity, but often consists of embolism or splenectomy.
Penetrating trauma is an open wound injury that occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue of the body, creating a deep but relatively narrow entry wound. In contrast, a blunt or non-penetrating trauma may have some deep damage, but the overlying skin is not necessarily broken and the wound is still closed to the outside environment. The penetrating object may remain in the tissues, come back out the path it entered, or pass through the full thickness of the tissues and exit from another area.
A pulmonary contusion, also known as lung contusion, is a bruise of the lung, caused by chest trauma. As a result of damage to capillaries, blood and other fluids accumulate in the lung tissue. The excess fluid interferes with gas exchange, potentially leading to inadequate oxygen levels (hypoxia). Unlike pulmonary laceration, another type of lung injury, pulmonary contusion does not involve a cut or tear of the lung tissue.
Abdominal trauma is an injury to the abdomen. Signs and symptoms include abdominal pain, tenderness, rigidity, and bruising of the external abdomen. Complications may include blood loss and infection.
Diaphragmatic rupture is a tear of the diaphragm, the muscle across the bottom of the ribcage that plays a crucial role in breathing. Most commonly, acquired diaphragmatic tears result from physical trauma. Diaphragmatic rupture can result from blunt or penetrating trauma and occurs in about 0.5% of all people with trauma.
Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) occurs when the abdomen becomes subject to increased pressure reaching past the point of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH). ACS is present when intra-abdominal pressure rises and is sustained at > 20 mmHg and there is new organ dysfunction or failure. ACS is classified into three groups: Primary, secondary and recurrent ACS. It is not a disease and as such it occurs in conjunction with many disease processes, either due to the primary illness or in association with treatment interventions. Specific cause of abdominal compartment syndrome is not known, although some causes can be sepsis and severe abdominal trauma. Increasing pressure reduces blood flow to abdominal organs and impairs pulmonary, cardiovascular, renal, and gastro-intestinal (GI) function, causing obstructive shock, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and death.
An exploratory laparotomy is a general surgical operation where the abdomen is opened and the abdominal organs are examined for injury or disease. It is the standard of care in various blunt and penetrating trauma situations in which there may be life-threatening internal injuries. It is also used in certain diagnostic situations, in which the operation is undertaken in search of a unifying cause for multiple signs and symptoms of disease, and in the staging of some cancers.
A liver injury, also known as liver laceration, is some form of trauma sustained to the liver. This can occur through either a blunt force such as a car accident, or a penetrating foreign object such as a knife. Liver injuries constitute 5% of all traumas, making it the most common abdominal injury. Generally nonoperative management and observation is all that is required for a full recovery.
The kidney is injured in approximately 10 percent of all significant blunt abdominal trauma. Of those, 13 percent are sports-related when the kidney, followed by testicle, is most frequently involved. However, the most frequent cause by far is traffic collisions, followed by falls. The consequences are usually less severe than injuries involving other internal organs.
Spleen pain is a pain felt from the left upper quadrant of the abdomen or epigastrium where the human spleen is located or neighboring.
