Exam #4: Abdomen Flashcards
(67 cards)
What is the appropriate sequence of the abdominal examination?
1) Inspection
2) Auscultation
3) Percussion
4) Palpation
What is visceral pain?
Visceral pain is the pain that occurs when hollow abdominal organs are forcefully contracted, distended, or stretched; it also occurs with stretching of the capsules of solid organs. Patients describe the pain as:
- gnawing
- burning
- achy
- cramping
What is parietal pain?
Inflammation or the parietal peritoneum that results in steady achy pain that is more severe than visceral pain. This pain is exacerbated by movement; patients prefer to lie still.
What is referred pain?
Pain felt at more distant sites, innervated at approximately the same level as the disordered structure.
What is Grey Turner’s Sign?
Bruising of the flanks caused by:
- Pancreatitis
- Abdominal trauma
- Ruptured AAA
- Ruptured ectopic pregnancy
What is Cullen’s Sign?
Periumbilical ecchymosis caused by:
- Pancreatitis
- Ruptured ectopic pregnancy
What is Sister Mary Joseph’s?
- A periumbilical nodule or hard mass
Clinically, Sister Mary Joseph’s reflects metastatic disease caused by intrapelvic or intraabdominal malignancies.
What is Linea Nigra?
A line of pigmentation that often develops during pregnancy
What is Caput Medusa?
Dilated tortuous, superficial veins radiating upwards from the umbilicus
What is Diastasis Recti?
A separation between the left & right side of the rectus abdominus muscle
What is a scaphoid abdomen? What is it a sign of?
A sucked in abdomen, which is a sign of malnutrition
What is a distended lower half of the abdomen a sign of?
1) Bladder distention
2) Pregnancy
3) Ovarian mass
4) Sigmoid tumor
What is a protuberant abdomen a sign of?
1) Ascites
2) Organomegaly
3) Obesity
What are you listening for when you auscultate the abdomen?
1) Bowel sounds
2) Bruits of the aortic, renal iliac, and femoral arteries
When you listen to bowel sounds you hear loud prolonged gurgles. What is this a sign of?
Borborygmi–normal sounds
When you listen to bowel sounds you hear increased sounds. What is this is a sign of?
Gastroenteritis
Early bowel obstruction
Hunger
When you listen to bowel sounds you hear high-pitched tinkling. What is this a sign of?
Early obstruction–intestinal fluid & air under pressure
When you listen to bowel sounds you hear decreased sounds. What is this a sign of?
Peritonitis
Paralytic ileus
When you listen to bowel sounds you hear no sounds (for > 5 min). What is this an indication of?
Bowel obstruction–this is a surgical EMERGENCY.
How will a normal abdomen sound to percussion?
The normal abdomen has both tympanitic areas (gas-filled) & dull areas (fluid-filled)
What does a protuberant abdomen that is diffusely tympanitic suggest?
Intestinal obstruction
What is the definition of “tympany?” What is it associated with?
Musical note of higher pitch than resonance
- air-filled viscera
What is the definition of “hyperresonance?” What is it associated with?
Between tympany and resonance
- Base of the lung
What is the definition of “resonance?” What is it associated with?
Sustained note of moderate pitch
- Over lung tissue & sometimes abdomen
