Find the Cause of Abdominal Pain?

There are numerous organs in the abdomen which can lead to a left side abdominal pain at some stage. These include the gastrointestinal and urinal tract, pelvic cavity, abdominal wall muscle, chest, bones, blood vessels, skin and nerve. The left abdomen can be classified into 2 parts. The upper left abdomen and lower left abdomen. An abdominal pain in any of these parts is due to various reasons.

Upper Left Abdominal Pain

The various organs that may get affected and the causes for upper left abdominal pain are as follows:

Large Intestine – A large intestine can be responsible for an upper left abdominal pain in case of constipation. Even Volvulus, a condition where the transverse colon gets twisted around its axis, can cause a pain in the upper left abdomen.

Pancreas – Pancreatitis, either acute or chronic, can affect the pancreas resulting in severe pain. Pancreatic cancer too leads to pain in the upper left abdomen.

Spleen – Any disorders in spleen can result in upper left abdominal pain. Some of the disorders include splenic infarct, enlarged spleen (in liver disease or cancer) and ruptured spleen.

Kidneys – The pain-causing disorders in kidneys include glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis and urinary stones.

Lungs – Though the lungs usually don’t form a part of the abdomen, but still conditions like pneumonia, pulmonary embolism and inflammation of lung membrane can result in abdominal pain in the upper left side.

Left Adrenal Gland – Adrenal adenoma affecting the left adrenal gland can cause abdominal pain.

Diaphragm – Abscess is the condition where the pus is collected below diaphragm. This results in mild to severe upper left abdominal pain.

Heart – A heart attack or angina pectoris are some conditions related to heart and which can cause upper left abdominal pain.

Apart from these, some other causes like bowel obstruction and abdominal adhesions can lead to upper left abdominal pain.

Lower Left Abdominal Pain

Given below are the affected organs and related causes of pain in the lower left abdomen:

Appendix – Though situated in the lower right abdomen, appendicitis sometimes causes pain even in the lower left abdomen.

Colon – Various conditions that affect the colon and result in lower left abdominal pain include irritable bowel syndrome, trapped gas, constipation, diverticulitis, diverticulosis, volvulus, colorectal polyps, cancer, ischemic and inflammatory bowel disease.

Abdominal Membrane – The abdominal membrane or peritoneum can be affected by endometriosis, fibroma and fibroids and cause lower left abdominal pain.

Male Reproductive Organs – The male reproductive organs that may have been affected during gonorrhea, testes disorders or spermatic cord disorders can lead to severe lower left abdominal pain.

Female Reproductive Organs – The conditions that affect the female reproductive organs are ovulation, miscarriage, gonorrhea, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, endometritis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and ruptured ovarian cyst. These disorders generally lead to pain in the lower left abdomen.

Blood – Sickle cell disease and porphyria are some of the blood-related conditions that can cause abdominal pain in lower left part.

Abdominal Vessels – Aneurism of abdominal aorta, hereditary angioedema, atherosclerosis and henoch-Schonlein-purpura in the abdominal vessels.

Abdominal Muscles – Hard exercise, blow, intestinal hernia, and abscess in psoas muscle and rectus sheath hematoma affect the abdominal muscles and can cause stomach pain in the lower left part.

Skin – Herpes Zoster and Dermatitis not only affect the skin but also result in abdominal pain in the lower left side.

Some other conditions that cause lower left abdominal pain include pelvic adhesions and bowel obstruction.