The Abdomen Flashcards
Boundaries of the abdomen
The region lying between the thorax above and the pelvic cavity below.
The anterior abdominal wall is bounded by the 7-12th costal cartilages and the xiphoid process of the sternum superiorly, and the inguinal ligaments and pelvic bones inferiorly.
The abdominal cavity is separated from the thoracic cavity by the diaphragm.
Abdominal regions
Right hypochondrium – Epigastrium – Left hypochondrium
Right lumbar – Umbilical – Left lumbar
Right inguinal – Suprapubic – Left inguinal
Physiology of swallowing
The swallowing process is controlled by the medulla initially and by an autonomous peristaltic reflex coordinated by the enteric nervous system in the mid- and distal-oesophagus.
This complex process can be divided into 3 phases: oral phase, oro-pharyngeal phase, and oesophageal phase.
Physiology of swallowing: oral phase
Food enters the oral cavity.
Mastication and bolus formation.
Physiology of swallowing: oro-pharyngeal phase
Tongue elevates and propels the bolus to the pharynx.
The soft palate elevates to seal the nasopharynx.
The larynx and hyoid bone move anteriorly and cranially.
Epiglottis moves posteriorly and caudally to close the respiratory tract.
Respiration pauses.
Pharynx shortens.
Physiology of swallowing: oesophageal phase
Upper oesophageal sphincter relaxes. Bolus passes into the oesophagus. Oesophagus contracts sequentially (peristalsis). Lower oesophageal sphincter relaxes. Bolus enters the stomach.
Abdominal history: dysphagia overview
This is difficulty swallowing, the principal symptom of oesophageal disease. Level of obstruction Onset Time course Solids/liquids Associated symptoms
Abdominal history: dysphagia, level of obstruction
Where does the patient feel the obstruction?
Patients can often point to a level on the chest although the sensation usually correlates poorly with the actual level of obstruction.
Abdominal history: dysphagia, onset
How quickly did the symptoms emerge?
Obstruction caused by cancer may progress rapidly over a few months.
Benign peptic stricture may give very long history of GORD with slowly progressive dysphagia.
Abdominal history: dysphagia, time course
Is the symptom intermittent or constant?
Present for only the first few swallows: lower oesophageal ring, spasm?
Progressive: cancer, stricture, achalasia.
Abdominal history: dysphagia, solids/liquids
Solids, liquids, or both affected?
Both solids and liquids being affected equally suggests a motor cause (achalasia, spasm).
Solids affected more than liquids suggests some physical obstruction is more likely (e.g. cancer).
Abdominal history: dysphagia, associated symptoms
Heartburn (leads to oesophageal strictures)
Weight loss
Wasting
Fatigue (perhaps suggestive of cancer)
Coughing and choking suggest pharyngeal dysphagia due to motor dysfunction, e.g. motor neuron disease causing bulbar or pseudobulbar palsy.
Types of dysphagia
Oropharyngeal
Oesophageal
What is oropharyngeal dysphagia?
‘High’ dysphagia.
Patients have difficulty initiating a swallow and often feel as though the cervical/neck area is the level of apparent obstruction.
Symptoms relate to both the dysphagia itself and likely underlying causes: difficulty initiating swallow, nasal regurgitation, coughing, nasal speech, diminished cough reflex, choking, dysarthria and diplopia, halitosis.
What is oesophageal dysphagia?
‘Low’ dysphagia.
Patients find the site of apparent obstruction difficult to localise and may often point to their neck when the obstruction is actually within the distal oesophagus (e.g. in achalasia).
Causes of oropharyngeal dysphagia
Mechanical and obstructive: infections (e.g. retropharyngeal abscess), enlarged thyroid, lymphadenopathy, Zenker’s diverticulum, reduced muscle compliance (e.g. myositis, fibrosis), malignancy, large cervical osteophytosis.
Neuromuscular: stroke, Parkinson’s disease, bulbar palsy, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia graves, muscular dystrophy.
Other: poor dentition, oral ulcers, xerostomia.
Causes of oesophageal dysphagia
Mucosal disease: peptic stricture, oesophageal rings and webs (e.g. Plummer-Vinson syndrome), oesophageal tumours, chemical injury, radiation injury, infectious oesophagitis, eosinophilic oesphagitis.
Mediastinal disease: tumours, infection (e.g. TB, histoplasmosis), cardiovascular (e.g. vascular compression).
Smooth muscle/ innervation disease: achalasia (e.g. idiopathic, Chagas disease), scleroderma, post-surgical (e.g. post-fundoplication, antireflux devices, gastric banding).
Abdominal history: odynophagia
This is pain on swallowing and usually reflects a severe inflammatory process involving the oesophageal mucosa or, rarely, the oesophageal musculature.
The character may range from a dull retrosternal ache to a sharp, stabbing pain with radiation through to the back.
Severity can be such that patients feel unable to swallow their own saliva.
Abdominal history: odynophagia, causes
Chemical irritation: acid, alkali
Drug-induced oesophagitis: antibiotics e.g. doxycycline, potassium chloride, quinidine, iron sulphate, zidovudine, NSAIDs.
Radiation oesophagitis.
Infectious oesophagitis.
Healthy patients: Candida albicans, herpes simplex.
Immunocompromised patients: fungal (Candida, histoplasmosis), viral (herpes simplex, cytomegalovirus, HIV, EBV), Mycobacteria (tuberculosis, avium-complex), protozoan (Cryptosporidium, Pneumocystis jiroveci), idiopathic ulceration.
Severe ulcerative oesophagitis secondary to GORD.
Oesophageal carcinoma.
Abdominal history: globus sensation
This is the sensation of a ‘lump’ or tightness in the throat and is usually not related to swallowing.
Patients may describe this as a ‘tightness’, ‘choking’, or ‘strangling feeling’ as if something is caught in the throat.
Present between meals.
Swallowing solids or large liquid boluses may give temporary relief.
Exacerbated by emotional stress.
Dysphagia and odynophagia are not present.
Abdominal history: globus sensation, causes
The cause of globus sensation is often unclear and may be a combination of physiological and psychological factors.
Anxiety, panic disorder, depression, and somatisation are often present.
Physiological tests of oesophageal motility are often normal.
A combination of biological factors, hypochondriacal traits, and learned fear following an episode of choking can increase the symptom.
Abdominal history: heartburn and reflux
GORD.
Caused by the regurgitation of stomach contents into the oesophagus due to an incompetent anti-reflux mechanism at the gastro-oesophageal junction.
Site: mid-line, retrosternal.
Radiation: to the throat and occasionally the infra-scapular regions.
Nature: ‘burning’.
Aggravating factors: worse after meals and when performing postures which raise the intra-abdominal pressure (bending, stooping, lying supine); pregnancy.
Associated symptoms: acid or bitter taste (acid regurgitation), sudden filling of the mouth with saliva (waterbrash).
Acid reflux may be worsened by certain foods (alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, fatty meals) and some drugs (calcium channel blockers, anticholinergics) which act to reduce the GOJ sphincter pressure.
Hiatus hernia is another important cause of reflux symptoms.
Abdominal history: heartburn, causes
Decreased lower oesophageal sphincter pressure: foods (fats, sugars, chocolate, onions, coffee, alcohol); cigarette smoking; medication (calcium channel blockers, nitrates, diazepam, theophylline, progesterone, anticholinergics).
Direct mucosal irritation: foods (citrus fruits, tomato-based foods, spicy foods, coffee); medication (aspirin, NSAIDs, tetracycline, quinidine, potassium chloride, iron).
Increased intra-abdominal pressure: bending over, lifting, straining at stool, exercise.
Other: lying supine, lying on the right, red wine, high emotion.
Abdominal history: nausea
A feeling of sickness- the inclination to vomit.
Usually occurs in waves.
May be associated with retching or heaving.
Can last from seconds to days depending on the cause.