Common afflictions of the abdominal cavity include the presence of fluid in the peritoneal cavity (ascites) and peritonitis, an inflammation of the peritoneum.
In the abdomen it can be used to detect fluid (ascites), a gaseous distention of the intestine as occurs in bowel obstruction, or an enlargement of the liver.
Ascites, accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, between the membrane lining the abdominal wall and the membrane covering the abdominal organs.
Congestive symptoms may also result in enlargement of the liver and spleen and loss of fluid into the abdominal cavity (ascites) or the pleural cavity (pleural effusion), profoundly affecting organ function and respiratory function.
The most common causes of ascites are cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure, tumours of the peritoneal membranes, and escape of chyle (lymph laden with emulsified fats) into the peritoneal cavity.
In patients having liver disease, the onset of ascites is usually preceded by accumulation of fluid in the ankles.
Nor have I asked if we can somehow manage to avoid a fate that haunts me, the ultimate degradation of ascites: fluids accumulating in the abdominal cavity.
Dr Patel maintained that the total fluid was somewhat in excess of three litres but that it was mainly ascites (a substance which forms in a damaged liver), which had been stained with blood.
His evidence would be that there was no internal rupture and that the fluid consisted of blood stained ascites and not blood alone.
He had not retained the fluid nor had he sampled it in order to ascertain the proportion of blood because, he said, he had handled blood all his professional life and he knew that this was not blood but blood-stained ascites.
When the discrepancy in Patel's records came to light and Patel was asked by the prosecution to prove his later assertion, he said he "had handled blood all his professional life and he knew that this was not blood but blood-stained ascites".
