Abstract A technique for abdominal lavage is described and was used to evaluate the abdomen of 671 multiple trauma victims. In 44 per cent (299 cases) there was a bloodstained return and these were regarded as positive. Patients with a positive result underwent exploratory laparotomy which revealed that 89 per cent had significant intra-abdominal trauma requiring a surgical procedure, 8 per cent had trauma which did not require any active surgical correction and 3 per cent had no abnormal findings. Of all the lavages performed, there were 0.11 per cent false positive and 0.03 per cent false negative results. The value of the test in the context of multiple trauma is emphasized.