Biomaterial Database

What could be causing chronic abdominal pain? Anything from common peptic ulcers to uncommon pancreatic trauma. 1999

J R DeBanto, and G W Varilek, and L Haas

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington 40536-0084, USA.

Establishing a reasonable diagnosis and treatment plan in patients with chronic abdominal pain can be difficult and frustrating. Most cases involve a common and readily identified condition (e.g., gallbladder disease, GERD, irritable bowel syndrome). Other cases, however, resist ready diagnosis because they offer no intra-abdominal explanation. In this article, the authors summarize several diverse possibilities as the source of the pain, and they describe how to approach evaluation to avoid unnecessary testing.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010179	Pancreas	A nodular organ in the ABDOMEN that contains a mixture of ENDOCRINE GLANDS and EXOCRINE GLANDS. The small endocrine portion consists of the ISLETS OF LANGERHANS secreting a number of hormones into the blood stream. The large exocrine portion (EXOCRINE PANCREAS) is a compound acinar gland that secretes several digestive enzymes into the pancreatic ductal system that empties into the DUODENUM.
D002908	Chronic Disease	Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed). For epidemiological studies chronic disease often includes HEART DISEASES; STROKE; CANCER; and diabetes (DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 2).	Chronic Condition,Chronic Illness,Chronically Ill,Chronic Conditions,Chronic Diseases,Chronic Illnesses,Condition, Chronic,Disease, Chronic,Illness, Chronic
D005767	Gastrointestinal Diseases	Diseases in any segment of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT from ESOPHAGUS to RECTUM.	Cholera Infantum,Gastrointestinal Disorders,Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders,Gastrointestinal Disorders, Functional,Disease, Gastrointestinal,Diseases, Gastrointestinal,Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder,Gastrointestinal Disease,Gastrointestinal Disorder,Gastrointestinal Disorder, Functional
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000007	Abdominal Injuries	General or unspecified injuries involving organs in the abdominal cavity.	Injuries, Abdominal,Abdominal Injury,Injury, Abdominal
D015746	Abdominal Pain	Sensation of discomfort, distress, or agony in the abdominal region.	Colicky Pain,Abdominal Pains,Colicky Pains,Pain, Abdominal,Pain, Colicky,Pains, Abdominal,Pains, Colicky