Abdominal Pain Overview

Abdominal pain also known as stomachache or bellyache is usually felt in the part of the trunk below the ribs, above the pelvis and the groin. Most people experience abdominal pain or stomachache at some point in their lives. It can range in intensity from a mild ache to a severe disabling pain. Pain in the abdomen or belly can come from conditions affecting a variety of organs. Abdominal pain can be crampy, achy, dull, intermittent or sharp.

The abdomen is an anatomical area that is bounded by the lower margin of the ribs above, the pelvic bone (pubic ramus) below, and the flanks on each side.

Abdominal Pain can arise from the tissues of the abdominal wall that surround the abdominal cavity e.g. skin and abdominal wall muscles, the term abdominal pain generally is used to describe pain originating from organs within the abdominal cavity e.g. beneath the skin and muscles. These organs include the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. Sometimes pain may be felt in the abdomen even though it is arising from other organs that are close to but not within the abdominal cavity, for example, the lower part of the lungs, the kidneys, the uterus and the ovaries. This type of pain is called referred pain because the pain, although originating outside the abdomen, is being referred to or felt in the abdominal area.

Abdominal pain can be acute and sudden in onset, or the pain can be chronic and longstanding. Abdominal pain may be minor and of no great significance, or it can reflect a major problem involving one of the organs in the abdomen.

While abdominal pain isn’t normal, it isn’t necessarily serious, and it usually resolves by itself. Abdominal pain can be acute and sudden in onset, or the pain can be chronic and longstanding. But certain forms of abdominal pain may indicate a serious health condition, it can reflect a major problem involving one of the organs in the abdomen.  so it’s important to recognize the signs that may indicate that there maybe an underlying problem.

Types of Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain may take several different forms, abdominal pain can be described as localized, cramp-like, or colicky. In addition to how severe it is, abdominal pain can be described in the following ways:

Generalized Pain: This refers to pain felt in more than half of your abdominal area, and is typical of stomach viruses indigestion or gas as the cause of pain.
Localized Pain: This refers to pain felt in just one area of the abdomen, and is typical of a problem with an organ like the stomach, appendix, or gallbladder causing the pain.
Cramps: This type of pain come and goes, or changes in its severity or perceived position in the abdomen. Cramping is rarely serious and is typical of gas, passing a stool, or menstruation as the cause of the pain.
Colicky Pain: Just like cramping, this type of pain comes and goes, but tends to be severe and to start and end suddenly. It’s typical of kidney stones or gallstones as the cause of the pain.
If your abdominal pain pain is so severe that you can’t move without feeling more intense pain, or you are unable to sit still in a comfortable position, it is important to seek medical attention.
It is also important to seek immediate medical attention if your abdominal pain is accompanied by any of the following symptoms:
  • Fever
  • Bloody stool
  • Nausea and vomiting that doesn’t resolve
  • Weight loss
  • Yellowish skin
  • Abdomen very tender to touch
  • Swollen abdomen

Causes of Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain can be caused by many conditions. However, the main causes are infection, abnormal growths, inflammation, obstruction (blockage), and intestinal disorders. Infections in the throat, intestines, and blood can cause bacteria to enter the digestive tract, resulting in abdominal pain. These infections may also cause changes in digestion, such as diarrhea or constipation. Viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections that affect the stomach and intestines may also cause significant abdominal pain.

Cramps associated with menstruation are also a potential source of lower abdominal pain, but these are more commonly known to cause pelvic pain.

Other common causes of abdominal pain include:

  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Gastroenteritis(stomach flu)
  • Acid reflux (when stomach contents leak backward into the esophagus, causing heartburn and other symptoms)
  • Vomiting
  • Stress

Diseases that affect the digestive system can also cause chronic abdominal pain, the most common are:

  • Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome or spastic colon (a disorder that causes abdominal pain, cramping, and changes in bowel movements)
  • Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel disease)
  • Lactose intolerance (the inability to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk and dairy products)

Causes of severe abdominal pain include:

  • Organ rupture or near-rupture (such as a burst appendix, or appendicitis)
  • Kidney Stones
  • Gallbladder stones (known as gallstones)
  • Kidney infection

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Moreover, human biospecimens are available including tumor tissue, serum, plasma and PBMC samples from most other therapeutic areas.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and likewise normal healthy donors for controls. Additionally, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.