Flank disease: symptoms, causes and treatment
This old name refers to a set of conditions causing abdominal pain.
There are a large number of diseases in the world, many of which have accompanied us throughout history. Something as apparently simple and easy to treat today as the flu or an infection was once a death sentence for those who suffered from it.
Thanks to the many scientific and technical advances, it has been possible to better understand and treat different conditions. But it is not only the explanation of the problems, their causes and treatments that have evolved: largely due to the improved understanding of the disorders and the different research and conceptions of pathology existing in different parts of the world, different ways of referring to them have also emerged and disappeared.
An example is what was once called flank disease, which today could encompass and/or correspond to different diseases.which today could encompass and/or correspond to different diseases.
Flank disease: what did it refer to?
The disease of the side, mal del costado or dolor lateralis is an old way of denominating to a disorder observed already from the antiquity characterized by the presence of a high level of pain in the abdominal area, usually worsening withIt is common for this pain to worsen with movement or exertion and to be accompanied by fever, gastrointestinal disturbances, defecatory problems, respiratory rhythm disturbances and arrhythmias.
This disease has generated a great number of deaths throughout history, until the discovery of its causes and the invention of effective treatments for its solution. Nowadays, it is usually identified with a specific pathology, although it could be within the denomination could be agglutinated different affectations (since there are a large number of possible causes of abdominal pain and the general symptoms to which the concept refers). Although the name flank disease is not very common nowadays, you can still find people who use this term.
What conditions can it correspond to? Possible causes
The truth is that the term flank disease, nowadays, can seem somewhat generic since it does not offer real information on its causes, but simply a more or less extensive area of the body where the problem is found. In this sense, flank disease can correspond to or include within itself different conditions, among which the following stand out.
1. Appendicitis
It is probably the medical diagnosis with which the disease or flank disease would have more correspondence. This disease, nowadays quite well known and whose existence requires the removal of the appendix without generally great complications, was the cause of a large number of deaths during antiquity and the Middle Ages..
This disease implies the existence of a dilatation and inflammation of the appendix caused by an obstruction (which may or may not be the result of an infection, being the most frequent) that prevents a correct drainage of the intestinal mucus and that in the long run can cause compression and rupture of the appendix. The clearest and most evident symptom is localized pain in the flank (specifically in the so-called McBurney's point, in the lower right part of the abdomen), which may be accompanied by symptoms such as vomiting and nausea, fever and hyperthermia, and tremors.
If left untreated necrosis and infection of this tissue and surrounding tissue (including peritoneum) or (including peritoneum) or it is even possible that the appendix ruptures, generating a major hemorrhage. These are probably the causes of most of the deaths associated with flank disease.
2. Acute cholecystitis
Inflammation of the gallbladder, generated mainly by the presence of stones in this organ. Inflammation can lead to necrosis, suppuration and gangrene. It also generates pain in the side, besides being able to trigger other problems and complications. It can be complicated by peritonitis or pancreatitis, and it is also potentially fatal..
3. Peritonitis
Inflammation of the peritoneum, usually due to bacterial infection (septic) or accumulation of body fluids and fluids such as pus (aseptic peritonitis). Symptoms resemble those of flank disease: abdominal pain, fever, breathing problems, bloating, vomiting, and diarrhea or constipation.. If left untreated, it can lead to death.
4. Renal lithiasis
This disease generated by the presence of kidney stones is another disease that could be considered as a flank disease. The excessive accumulation of these elements generates pain, and in the long run it can even generate known as nephritic colic. However, it is less likely that flank disease refers to this because of its greater similarity to the previous ones.
What would the medical treatment be like today?
In contrast to the Middle Ages, when the disease of the flank resulted in the death of a large number of people, nowadays there are more means to overcome the disease, nowadays, there are more means available to overcome the diseases grouped in this disused category.. However, it is not that the problem is harmless: it is a problem that remains potentially fatal if left untreated.
As far as the procedure to be used is concerned, the first step is obviously to diagnose the problem itself in a much more specific way. In this regard it is possible to make an exploration through touch to note the presence of inflammation, but it is also possible to resort to techniques such as it is also possible to resort to techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and contrast radiography.. The use of blood and stool analysis can reflect information of great relevance. Likewise, the use of techniques such as colonoscopy can also allow a more complete vision of the state of the digestive tract.
Once the organ failure and the presenting problem have been detected, the treatment will vary according to its causes. Surgery may be resorted to in order to remove damaged or affected parts, as in the case of appendicitis. If there is an infection, the administration of Antibiotics will also be necessary.
Bibliographic references:
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"Medicine, n.1". OED Online. Oxford University Press. September 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
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Grammaticos PC, Diamantis A (2008). "Useful known and unknown views of the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates and his teacher Democritus". Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
(Updated at Apr 12 / 2024)