What is peritonitis

Peritonitis Peritonitis is defined as inflammation of the peritoneum (the serous membrane which lines part of the abdominal cavity and some of the viscera it contains). It may be localised or generalised, generally has an acute course, and …

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_peritonitis

Peritonitis is an infection caused by an inflammation of the lining of the abdominal cavity, known as the peritoneum.

http://www.muschealth.com/gs/HealthTopic.aspx?action=showpage&pageid=P00391

A number of conditions can cause peritonitis. Usually, peritonitis occurs when an infection develops in the peritoneum from a perforation (per-fo-RAY-shun), or hole, in the stomach, intestines, appendix, or one of the other organs covered b…

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3497700292.html#A

Related Questions Answered on Y!Answers

peritonitis?

Q: continue discharge of pus 4 months after a ruptured appendix/peritonitis operation. carrying a drainage tube. bacteria tested to be e. coli and pseudomas. The source of infection is unknown. Should i continue with iv injection, or should the source of infection be identified and removed first? could sources of infection be either the presence of fecal stone, suture infection, fragments of ruptured appendix or fistula? a second operation?

A: Get a second medical opinion! This is hard to judge via internet.

Is it possible to have peritonitis with out an infection present?

Q: Years ago I had a sharp pain behind my belly button. Apparently this is one of the symptoms of peritonitis. I also had lots of other systemic symptoms. But, years later I found out I had a large cyst (adrenal tumour). It was half the size of my abdomen when discovered. Could this have caused a form of peritonitis?

A: Yes might have, Peritonitis simply means inflammation of the peritoneum. Whilst an infection can cause this, other issues such as an perforated appendix, perforated bowel, gall bladder issues or other substances from other organs can leak into the abdominal cavity causing this inflammation too. Your cyst might have pushed on other organs causing a spillage into the abdominal cavity for example.

Have you ever heard of viral peritonitis?

Q: The doctor told one of my friends that she has viral peritonitis, but she doesn’t know anything else about it. If you have any information on it, or know where I can find information about it, that would be super.Just as a heads up, she already looked on Wikipedia and couldn’t find it.Like I said, any information you have would be greatly appreciated at this point! Thanks so much!

A: This is basically when you have virusus in your peritoneal cavity. This is the part of your tummy surrounding the stomach, intestines etc. It is outside them but inside your tummy. Usually peritonitis is bacterial. But perhaps this happened to your friend because of a genitourinary infection. I am not sure.