A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, body weight, body height; furthermore:
- Inspection (viewing).
- Skin and mucous membranes
- Abdomen
- Shape of the abdomen?
- Skin color? Skin texture?
- Efflorescences?
- Pulsations? Bowel movements?
- Visible vessels?
- Scars? Hernias (fractures)?
- Inspection (viewing).
- Gynecological examination
- Inspection
- Vulva (external, primary female sexual organs).
- Vagina (vagina)
- Cervix uteri (cervix), or portio (cervix; transition from the cervix (cervix uteri) into the vagina (vagina)), if necessary, taking a Pap smear (for early detection of cervical cancer) [if necessary, fluor vaginalis / discharge or pus / pus ex utero].
- Palpation (bimanual; palpation with both hands) of the internal genital organs:
- Cervix uteri (cervix).
- Uterus (uterus) [Normal: anteflexed/anteriorly angulated, normal size, no tenderness; here may be tenderness due to endometritis/uterine inflammation?, cervical sliding pain?, uterine tenderness or edge pain?]]
- Adnexa (appendages of the uterus, i.e., the ovary and uterine tube). [Normal: free; here: Druckdolenz / pressure pain of the adnexa (adnexal pain)?, possibly also doughy distended tubes due totubal abscess / pus accumulation in the fallopian tube?]
- Parametria (pelvic connective tissue in front of the cervix to the urinary bladder and on both sides to the lateral pelvic wall) [Normal: free].
- Pelvic walls [Normal: free]
- Douglas space (pocket-shaped bulge of the peritoneum (peritoneum) between the rectum (rectum) behind and uterus (uterus) in front) [Normal: free; here, if necessary, pressure dolence and protrusion due to Douglas abscess].
- Inspection
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.
