Right Side Abdominal Pain

Right side abdominal pain is very common. It is defined here as pain occurring in the abdomen, to the right of an imaginary line drawn from the centre of the chest through the umbilicus or belly button to the top of the genitalia.

In precise medical terms, right side abdominal pain is pain occurring to the right of an imaginary line drawn vertically from the level of the right nipple to the mid-point between the top of the genitals and the tip of the waist bone on the side.

Enough of all this confusing definitions! What could cause pain on the right side of the abdomen?

The list will be almost endless. All the structures on the right side of the abdomen that can cause pain if there is disease in anyone of them include the following:

• Liver

• Gallbladder

• Pancreas

• Right kidney

• Right Ureter (the tube that drain urine from the kidney to be stored in the bladder

• Right adrenal gland

• Duodenum ( the very first part of the small intestines)

• Stomach

• Right part of the large intestines

• Appendix

• Right ovary in females

• Right Fallopian tube (or simply right tube)

• Muscles of the right abdominal wall

• Blood vessels in the right side of the abdomen

Other structures not found in the abdomen that can cause right side abdominal pain include:

• The lower part of right lung

• The heart

• Tumours from other sites

Yes, you probably know all these already. The most import question in your mind now could be “how do I know what is causing my right side abdominal pain now?”

We shall take you through the various possible causes of right side abdominal pain now, and give a very brief gist of the important signs and symptoms for each cause.

If you can relate most of the symptoms you are having with one of the mentioned causes, then go to that section and learn more about it.

In some cases, there may seem to be an overlap of signs and symptoms. Just read more and you should be able to spot the difference, or better still, discuss all the likely causes with your doctor.

For ease, we shall divide the causes of right side abdominal pain into:

Upper Right Abdominal Pain

Lower Right Abdominal Pain

As a quick run through, causes of right side abdominal pain in any age group or sex would include the following:

Appendicitis

How to know? It is the most common cause of right side abdominal pain requiring operation. Appendicitis is commoner in the early teens to thirties. It can however occur in any age group. The pain typically starts up in the abdomen, or around the belly button called umbilicus, then it moves to the lower right abdomen. In some individuals, the pain starts straight in the lower right abdomen. It gradually builds up in severity, initially niggling. The pain is typically always there, worsened by movement, and there is often loss of appetite, feeling of wanting to vomit, and may actually vomit. Read more on appendicitis

Biliary Colic

This is a disease of the gallbladder and or gallstones. Starts as a severe upper right side abdominal pain, gripping, with periods of very heightened severity, may spread to the back or right arm, and may be crushing. There may be vomiting, and pain typically lasts a few hours. It could easily be confused for heart attack, or Cholecystitis. Read more here …

Cholecystitis

This is another very common cause of upper right side abdominal pain. The typical person who develops this problem is a fair female in her forties or fifties, on the big side, and fertile. It can anyone though, male or female. It is due to infection of the gallbladder. Read more about it here

Find other causes of right side abdominal pain by narrowing down on the region below.

Upper Right Abdominal Pain

Lower Right Abdominal Pain

Right Side Abdominal Pain? Get Prescription medications here

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