
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Abdominal distension causes
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Abdominal distension (or “distended abdomen”) can be a sign of many conditions affecting many organ systems. [1] [2]
Causes
Causes
Common Causes
- Air swallowing (a nervous habit)
- Constipation
- Gastroesophageal reflux
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Lactose intolerance and other food intolerances
- Overeating
- Weight gain
Causes by Organ System
| Cardiovascular | |
| Chemical / poisoning | No underlying causes |
| Congenital |
Congenital hepatic porphyria, congenital megacolon, congenital short bowel, congenital tuberculosis, hirschsprung’s disease, Jirásek-Zuelzer-Wilson syndrome, meconium plug syndrome |
| Dermatologic | No underlying causes |
| Drug Side Effect |
Beractant, Caspofungin acetate, dexamethasone, febuxostat, Hydrocortisone, ibuprofen lysine, indinavir, pramipexole, rifaximin, atropine |
| Ear Nose Throat | No underlying causes |
| Endocrine | |
| Environmental | No underlying causes |
| Gastroenterologic |
Abdominal abscess, acute appendicitis, ascites, biliary Atresia, cirrhosis, colonic volvulus, constipation, diverticulitis, idiopathic sclerosing mesenteritis, ileus, large bowel obstruction, necrotizing enterocolitis, pancreatitis and complications (pseudocyst), peritoneal bleeding, peritonitis |
| Genetic | |
| Hematologic | |
| Iatrogenic |
Blind loop syndrome, colonic pseudo-obstruction (Ogilvie’s Syndrome) |
| Infectious Disease | |
| Musculoskeletal / Ortho | No underlying causes |
| Neurologic | No underlying causes |
| Nutritional / Metabolic |
Acute intermittent porphyria, hepatorenal tyrosinemia, lactose intolerance, overeating |
| Obstetric/Gynecologic | |
| Oncologic |
Granulosa cell tumor of the ovary, leukemia, lymphoma |
| Opthalmologic | No underlying causes |
| Overdose / Toxicity | No underlying causes |
| Psychiatric | No underlying causes |
| Pulmonary | No underlying causes |
| Renal / Electrolyte | |
| Rheum / Immune / Allergy | No underlying causes |
| Sexual | No underlying causes |
| Trauma |
Abdominal trauma with intra-abdominal bleeding |
| Urologic | No underlying causes |
| Miscellaneous |
Air swallowing (nervous habit), functional gas/constipation, gas/bloat syndrome, obesity, umbilical hernia or ventral hernia |
Causes in Alphabetical Order
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
