Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain is a key symptom of both minor ailments and serious diseases . Indigestion is the most common cause of abdominal pain in both adults and children. Additional common causes include inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestinal tract, constipation, and menstrual cramps. Serious causes of abdominal pain include appendicitis; gallbladder or kidney stones; ulcers of the stomach and small intestine; diverticulitis (inflammation of pouchlike tissue in the large intestine); hepatitis ; inflammation of a kidney , a fallopian tube, the bladder, or the pancreas; an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy; an ovarian cyst; an aortic aneurysm (abnormal widening of the aorta caused by weakness in the vessel wall); and cancer . With these conditions, pain often comes in waves, accompanied by vomiting, sweating, and tenderness of the abdomen when touched.