Gastric Mucosa Inflammation: Examination

A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:

  • General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; furthermore:
    • Inspection (viewing).
      • Skin, mucous membranes and sclerae (white part of the eye).
      • Abdomen (abdomen)
        • Shape of the abdomen?
        • Skin color? Skin texture?
        • Efflorescences (skin changes)?
        • Pulsations? Bowel movements?
        • Visible vessels?
        • Scars? Hernias (fractures)?
    • Auscultation (listening) of the heart [due todifferential diagnosis: myocardial infarction (heart attack)].
    • Auscultation of the lungs
    • Examination of the abdomen (belly)
      • Percussion (tapping) of the abdomen
        • Meteorism (flatulence): hypersonoric tapping sound.
        • Attenuation of tapping sound due to enlarged liver or spleen, tumor, urinary retention?
        • Hepatomegaly (liver enlargement) and/or splenomegaly (spleen enlargement): estimate liver and spleen size.
        • Cholelithiasis (gallstones): tapping pain over the gallbladder region and the right lower ribcage.
      • Palpation (palpation) of the abdomen (abdomen) (tenderness?, knocking pain?, coughing pain?, defensive tension?, hernial orifices?, renal bearing knocking pain?).
      • [due toPossible sequelae of acute gastritis as well as type A gastritis: ulcus ventriculi (gastric ulcer) and as a result there may be gastric perforation or life-threatening gastric bleeding, manifested by vomiting blood (hematemesis) or tarry stools (melena)][due toDifferential diagnoses:
        • Appendicitis (inflammation of the appendix).
        • Cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation)
        • Small intestinal obstruction (narrowing of the small intestine due to inflammation, tumor or foreign body).
        • Functional dyspepsia (irritable stomach syndrome).
        • Biliary colic
        • Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
        • Ulcus duodeni (duodenal ulcer)
        • Ulcus ventriculi (gastric ulcer)]
    • Digital rectal examination (DRU): examination of the rectum (rectum) [due todifferential diagnosis: colon obstruction (narrowing of the colon due to inflammation, tumor or foreign body)].
  • Cancer screening [due todifferential diagnoses: gastric carcinoma (stomach cancer); pancreatic carcinoma (pancreatic cancer)]
  • If necessary, neurological examination [due topossible secondary disease of type A gastritis: polyneuropathy].
  • If necessary, psychiatric examination [due topossible secondary disease of type A gastritis: depression].
  • Health check

Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.