A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; further:
- Inspection (viewing).
- Skin and mucous membranes
- 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 diagnoses: coronary heart disease (CHD); myocardial infarction (heart attack)].
- Auscultation of the lungs [due topossible sequelae: sinubronchitis (simultaneous occurrence of sinusitis(sinusitis and bronchitis / inflammation of the larger branched airways)]
- Palpation (palpation) of the abdomen (abdomen) (tenderness?, knocking pain?, coughing pain?, defensive tension?, hernial orifices?, renal bearing knocking pain?) [gastric ulcer (stomach ulcer); esophagitis (esophagitis)]
- Inspection (viewing).
- ENT medical examination including a laryngoscopy (laryngoscopy) [due topossible sequelae: laryngeal carcinoma (cancer of the larynx); other possible sequelae: chronic sinusitis (sinusitis); chronic otitis (inflammation of the middle ear)]
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.