Small bowel obstruction on plain radiograph of the abdomen

A supine examination of the abdomen (left panel) shows a dilated loop of small bowel in the left upper quadrant (arrow). The descending colon is not visualized and implies that it is decompressed, and there is no air in the rectum. The stomach is distended with fluid, and the upright examination (right panel) shows a small air fluid level in the stomach (arrow) and more obvious air fluid levels in the small bowel (arrowheads).