TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 34. Abdominal Pain A1 - Steiner, Alicja Soczewko A2 - Warfield, Carol A. A2 - Bajwa, Zahid H. PY - 2004 T2 - Principles & Practice of Pain Medicine, 2e AB - Abdominal pain is one of the most common presenting complaints in the primary care physician’s office and often a diagnostic dilemma for surgeons. Despite recent technologic advances, the diagnosis and treatment of chronic, recurrent abdominal pain remain a challenge. Pain is a subjective sensation that patients often find difficult to describe. By contrast with other areas of the body, the abdominal organs have poorly developed sensory systems that also may contribute to the patient’s difficulty when trying to describe and localize the pain. In the majority of clinical scenarios, no physical course is apparent and symptoms are transient. The purpose of pain is to protect the organ and the patient from injury. After the source of the pain is found, every effort should be made to control or eliminate it. In chronic pancreatitis or diffuse malignancy, for example, pain control may become as much a challenge as in instances where no underlying cause can be found. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/20 UR - accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=3414449 ER -