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The human abdomen is divided into quadrants and regions by anatomists and physicians for the purposes of study, diagnosis, and treatment. [1] [2] The division into four quadrants allows the localisation of pain and tenderness, scars, lumps, and other items of interest, narrowing in on which organs and tissues may be involved.
In medicine, Murphy's sign (also known as Sweeney’s sign) is a maneuver during a physical examination as part of the abdominal examination. [1] It is useful for differentiating pain in the right upper quadrant. Typically, it is positive in cholecystitis, but negative in choledocholithiasis, pyelonephritis, and ascending cholangitis.
An abdominal examination is a portion of the physical examination which a physician or nurse uses to clinically observe the abdomen of a patient for signs of disease. The abdominal examination is conventionally split into four different stages: first, inspection of the patient and the visible characteristics of their abdomen.
The liver scratch test can be used when other exam techniques used to approximate liver size are ineffective or unavailable [2] and is thought to be most useful if the abdomen is distended, too tender for direct palpation, the abdominal muscles are too rigid, or the patient is obese. [3]
In medicine, Carnett's sign is a finding on clinical examination in which abdominal pain remains unchanged or increases when the muscles of the abdominal wall are tensed. [1] [2] For this part of the abdominal examination, the patient can be asked to lift the head and shoulders from the examination table to tense the abdominal muscles.
The sign indicates aggravation of the parietal peritoneum by stretching or moving. Positive Blumberg's sign is indicative of peritonitis, [3] which can occur in diseases like appendicitis, and may occur in ulcerative colitis with rebound tenderness in the right lower quadrant.
Rovsing's sign, named after the Danish surgeon Niels Thorkild Rovsing (1862–1927), [1] is a sign of appendicitis.If palpation of the left lower quadrant of a person's abdomen increases the pain felt in the right lower quadrant, the patient is said to have a positive Rovsing's sign and may have appendicitis.
Castell's sign [1] is a medical sign assessed to evaluate splenomegaly and typically part of an abdominal examination. It is an alternative physical examination maneuver to percussion over Traube's space. Splenomegaly, although associated with numerous diseases, remains one of the more elusive physical exam findings in the abdomen.