Abdominal Compartment Syndrome
As early as 1876, E. C. Wendt noted the reduced urinary flow in the presence of abdominal hypertension. When surgeons started treating peritonitis operatively they were concerned about the "enormous pressure increase that often precluded abdominal closure"...

Peritonitis
Towards the end of the 19th century we learned to access the abdominal cavity surgically to treat intra-abdominal infections. Dramatic therapeutic successes were seen and gradually more abdominal procedures were introduced and performed. Surgeons experienced the benefits of closing the source of infection when they operated to treat intra-abdominal infections...