Signs of Peritoneal Irritation

Signs of peritoneal irritation normally occur if there is any pathological process in the abdominal cavity. They are characterized by pain or tenderness on palpation. The irritation can be marked or diffused.

Signs of peritoneal irritation include:
 * 1) Défense musculaire - reflex contraction of the abdominal wall muscles, in order to prevent inflammation from spreading.
 * 2) Plenié's sign - percussion on the patient's abdomen will cause pain. The pain manifests itself on the opposite side.
 * 3) Blumberg's sign - we compress the abdominal wall at the site of presumed inflammation, following the rapid release of the compression will cause pain at the site of inflammation.
 * 4) Rovsing's sign - by palpating the abdominal wall on the opposite side to the site of inflammation, we trigger pain at the site of inflammation.
 * 5) Murphy's symptom - pressure on the right hypochondrium causes pain.

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