#differential diagnosis

• abdomenoscop — An archaic or historical name for the endoscope previously used for the direct examination of the abdominal cavity (a precursor to the modern laparoscope). In early clinical semiology, the introduction of the abdomenoscope allowed physicians to visually verify the somatic hypotheses of alienated patients, eliminating suspicions of real tumors in cases of severe hypochondriacal delusion or imaginary pregnancy (pseudocyesis).
• abdominoscopie — An archaic or historical diagnostic method consisting of the direct visual examination of the abdominal cavity and internal organs using an abdomenoscope inserted through a small incision in the belly wall. In early neuropsychiatric semiology, performing an abdominoscopy served as a differential diagnostic tool to exclude real tumoral or inflammatory pathologies in alienated patients presenting with severe somatic fixations, persistent hypochondriacal delusions, or pseudocyesis phenomena (imaginary pregnancy).