Sites of Abdominal Pains

What is Abdominal Pain?

The abdomen is an anatomical area that is bounded by the lower margin of the ribs and diaphragm above, the pelvic bone (pubic ramus) below, and the flanks on each side. Although abdominal pain can arise from the tissues of the abdominal wall that surround the abdominal cavity (such as the skin and abdominal wall muscles), the term abdominal pain generally is used to describe pain originating from organs within the abdominal cavity. Organs of the abdomen include the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder, spleen, and pancreas. Abdominal pain can range in intensity from a mild stomach ache to severe acute pain. The pain is often nonspecific and can be caused by a variety of conditions.

The site of the pain may give a clue as to the cause.

• Right upper quadrant pain- cholecystitis, biliary colic, hepatitis , peptic ulcer, colon cancer, subphrenic abscess
• Epigastric pain- gastritis, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis, aortic aneurysm
• Left upper quadrant pain- peptic ulcer, colon cancer, ruptured spleen, subphrenic abscess
• Loin pain- renal colic, pyelonephritis, renal tumour, perinephric abscess, referred pain from vertebral column
• Left iliac fossa pain- colon cancer, pelvic abscess, diverticulitis, volvulus, UTI, cancer in undescended testis, renal colic, hip pathology, in addition to female(salpingitis, torsion of ovarian cyst)
• Right iliac fossa pain- all causes above excluding diverticulitis plus appendicitis
• Central pain- mesenteric ischaemia, abdominal aneurysm, pancreatitis, worms
• Pelvic pain/supra-pubic pain- UTI, urine retention, bladder stones, and addition in the female (menstrual, early pregnancy with problems, endometriosis, endometritis, salpingitis, torsion of ovarian cyst)
• Generalized pain- peritonitis, constipation, gastroenteritis