- Chronic abdominal pain can be organic or nonorganic, depending on whether a specific etiology is identified.

- Nonorganic abdominal pain or functional abdominal pain refers to pain without evidence of anatomic, inflammatory, metabolic, or neoplastic abnormalities.

- In the original case series, recurrent abdominal pain of childhood was considered to be the diagnosis . However, using the term as a description rather than a diagnosis probably is more accurate .

- Clinical and laboratory observations suggest that recurrent abdominal pain in childhood is not a single entity, but a symptom complex with organic and functional etiologies that can be exacerbated by psychologic disorders.