Dyspeptic backache.

Not infrequently the back is the site of a pain which at times may be very disabling. This is well known to occur in various spinal conditions involving the skeletal structures. It is also recognized as a feature at times of gynaecological disorders, organic nervous diseases, and states of anxiety and hysteria. Much less appreciated is the fact that backache may be caused by various intra-abdominal lesions. Indeed, as Yaskin and Finkelstein (1944) have emphasized, in some cases vague back pains may be the earliest manifestation of grave abdominal disease. The first description of this association has been attributed by Fagge (1886) to Cruveilhier (1829), who observed, according to Major (1945), that: