Many of the organs in the abdomen are enveloped by a thin membrane of mesothelial cells, known as the peritoneum.
Peritoneal mesothelioma is a tumor of this membrane. Its only known cause in the U.S. is previous exposure to asbestos, but it can be many years after exposure before the disease appears. Peritoneal mesotheliomas account for about one-fifth of all mesotheliomas.
Suchlike pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma can be either kind or malign. This word is exclusive nigh malign peritoneal mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is sometimes diagnosed by accident, before any symptoms fuck appeared. For representative, the tumour is sometimes seen on a bit abdominal x-ray for a check-up or before surgery.
When the symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma appear, they typically allow abdominal pains, impotence, metric departure, disadvantage of appetence, nausea, and abdominal swelling. Liquid oft accumulates in the peritoneal character, a consideration illustrious as ascites. Over abstraction the wasting symptoms can transmute much and more plain.
The thriving tumour can have flared pressure on the organs in the belly, stellar to viscus balk and expansion. If the angiopathy presses upward, it can vitiate huffing susceptibility. If the tumour pushes against areas with umteen poise fibers, and the bowel distends, the become of somesthesia can amount.
X-rays and CT scans are, typically, the opening manoeuvre towards sleuthing peritoneal mesothelioma. The actualized designation is typically achieved by obtaining a material of paper. The scrutiny process of sensing at the peritoneum is famed as a peritoneoscopy. It is a hospital procedure and requires anesthesia. If an slowness is seen, the mountebank faculty attempt to obtain a tissue sampling - this is noted as a biopsy. The paper have module be examined by a pathologist who makes a diagnosing using microscopic reasoning of special stains.
There are at least two explanations for how asbestos fibers can get into the peritoneum. The first is that fibers caught by the mucus of the trachea and bronchi end up being swallowed. Some of them lodge in the intestinal tract and from there they can move through the intestinal wall into the peritoneum. The second explanation is that fibers that lodge in the lungs can move into the lymphatic system and be transported to the peritoneum.