What it means
Used for a hollow organ or area that is swollen outward. A distended abdomen may hold gas, fluid or stool; a distended bladder is overfull with urine; distended neck veins (jugular venous distension) are bulging veins in the neck, seen when blood backs up toward the heart.
For the nurse
Measure abdominal girth at the same place each time to track a distended abdomen. For a distended bladder, check with a bladder scanner if available and report a client who cannot pass urine.
In a chart
"Abdomen firm and distended; bowel sounds hypoactive; no flatus since surgery."
Related terms
urinary retention
Being unable to empty the bladder completely, or at all.
flatulence
Gas in the stomach or intestines, or passing that gas through the anus.
paralytic ileus
A stop in the normal movement of the intestines that happens without anything physically blocking them.