#pseudocyesis

• Abdominocentesis — An invasive medical procedure consisting of the surgical puncturing of the abdominal wall using a trocar or needle, aimed at evacuating or analyzing fluids pathologically accumulated in the peritoneal cavity (ascites). In historical neuropsychiatric practice, the analysis of this fluid was used to differentiate true ascites from an imaginary pregnancy (pseudocyesis) or somatoform disorders with pronounced abdominal distension found in alienated patients.
• Abdominoscopy — 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).