SA Medical - General Medicine And Imaging of Disease

Characteristics and causes of an enlarged liver The mass descends from underneath the right costal margin, you cannot get above it, it moves with respiration, it is dull to percussion, and has a sharp or rounded edge. The surface may be smooth or irregular. Causes of an enlarged liver: infection, congestion (heart failure, hepatic vein obstruction, Budd Chiari syndrome), cellular infiltration (amyloid), cellular proliferation, space occupying lesion (polycystic disease, meta-static infiltration, primary hepatic cancer, hydatid cyst, abscess), cirrhosis.

The mass lies in a paracolic gutter, it moves with respiration, is dull to percussion, and can be felt bimanually. It can also be balloted (i.e. bounced, like a ball ( balla = ball ( Italian )) between your hands, one placed on the anterior abdominal wall and one on the posterior abdominal wall. Causes of an enlarged kidney: renal carcinoma, hydronephrosis, pyonephrosis, perinephric abscess, polycystic disease, nephroblastoma.