Dictionary of Clinical Terms

• Abdominal — Pertaining to the abdomen, relating to the abdomen, or located within this anatomical region. In psychiatric semiology, the adjective qualifies a wide range of dysfunctional clinical manifestations, such as 'abdominal aura' (a bizarre epigastric sensation preceding a temporal lobe epilepsy seizure) or 'abdominal migraine' (an idiopathic periodic manifestation, sometimes correlated with emotional lability in children). It also describes the localization of somatizations in anxiety-depressive disorders.