[The abdominal wall: an overlooked cause of pain].

Abdominal wall pain is frequently misdiagnosed as arising from visceral source, often resulting in inappropriate diagnostic tests, unsatisfactory treatment and high costs. The Authors describe the various causes of abdominal wall pain with particular regard to abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome. They analyze the main features of abdominal wall pain: a localized tender trigger point can be frequentely identified, the Carnett's sign is positive and the local injection of an anesthetic agent into the trigger point can be diagnostic and therapeutic, while image techniques are useful when the pain results from structural conditions. At last they describe the therapeutic options.