Abdominal Pain (Adults) Glossary of Terms

1. Abdominal Pain Slideshow Pictures
2. Pelvic Pain Slideshow Pictures
3. Appendicitis & Appendectomy

Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal cavity: The cavity within the abdomen, the space between the abdominal wall and...

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Acetaminophen: A nonaspirin pain reliever or analgesic. Acetaminophen may be given alone t...

Activated charcoal: Charcoal that has been heated to increase its ability to absorb molecu...

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Acute abdomen: Medical shorthand for the acute onset of abdominal pain. A potential medica...

Acute pain: Pain that comes on quickly, can be severe, but lasts a relatively shorter peri...

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Appendicitis: Inflammation of the appendix, usually associated with infection of the appen...

Appendix: A small outpouching from the beginning of the large intestine.

Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, w...

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Belly: That part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and t...

Belly pain: Pain in the abdomen. See: Abdominal pain.

Birth control: Birth control is the use of any practices, methods, or devices to prevent p...

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

Blood clot: A mass of coagulated blood. A blood clot can block a major blood vessel, causi...

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

Blood in the urine: Blood that appears in the urine. Also known as hematuria. Gross hematu...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Circulation: In medicine, the movement of fluid through the body in a regular or circuitou...

Cocaine: A substance derived from the leaves of the coca plant that is a bitter, addictive...

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in order to clear the lung airwa...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Digestive system: The system of organs responsible for getting food into and out of the bo...

Diverticulitis: Inflammation of the diverticula (small outpouchings) along the wall of th...

Duodenal: Pertaining to the duodenum, part of the small intestine. As in duodenal ulcer or...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Enzymes: Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical re...

Fever: Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degr...

Food poisoning: A common flu-like illness typically characterized by nausea, vomiting and...

Gallbladder: A pear-shaped organ located below the liver that stores the bile secreted by ...

Gallstones: Stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones can be as smal...

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

Gastroenterology: The medical specialty devoted to the study, diagnosis and treatment of d...

Groin: The area where the thigh meets the hip.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. He...

Hemorrhoids: Dilated (enlarged) veins in the walls of the anus and sometimes around the re...

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion...

Jaundice: Yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally h...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Kidney stone: A stone in the kidney or a stone that originates in the kidney but has passe...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Large intestine: Comes after the small intestine. Large because it is wider than the smal...

Leg: In popular usage, the part of the body from the top of the thigh down to the foot, an...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large org...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Nicotine: An alkaloid (a nitrogen-containing chemical) made by the tobacco plant or produc...

Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal o...

Operating room: A facility that is equipped for performing surgery. Abbreviated OR.

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

Ovary: The female gonad, one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. The ovaries are lo...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Palm: The grasping side of the hand; the flexor surface of the hand. In contrast to the ba...

Pancreas: A spongy, tube-shaped organ that is about 6 inches long and is located in the ba...

Pelvic: Having to do with the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen, located between the h...

Pelvic exam: An examination of the organs of the female reproductive system.

Pelvis: The lower part of the abdomen, located between the hip bones. Structures in the fe...

Penis: The external male sex organ. The penis contains two chambers, the corpora cavernosa...

Piercing: Using a sharp instrument, usually a needle, to make a temporary or permanent ...

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning i...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy ...

Radiology: The medical specialty concerned with radiation for the diagnosis and treatment ...

Rupture: A break or tear in any organ (such as the spleen) or soft tissue (such as the ach...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Shingles: An acute infection caused by the herpes zoster virus, the same virus as causes ...

Spasm: A brief, automatic jerking movement. A muscle spasm can be quite painful, with the ...

Spleen: An organ that is located in the upper-left part of the abdomen, not far from the s...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stool: The solid matter that is discharged in a bowel movement.

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Testicles: The testicles (also called testes or gonads) are the male sex glands. They are ...

Tubes: The "tubes" are medically known as the Fallopian tubes. There are two Fallopian tub...

Tummy: 1. "Babytalk" referring to the stomach. The word tummy is derived from stoma...

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

Ulcer: A lesion that is eroding away the skin or mucous membrane. Ulcers can have various ...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Uterus: A hollow, pear-shaped organ that is located in a woman's lower abdomen, between th...

Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids. Examples of vessels are blood vessels and ...

Vomit: Matter from the stomach that has come up into and may be ejected beyond the mouth, ...

White blood cell: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are seve...

White blood cell count (leukocyte count): The number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the b...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...