Hepatitis B: Examination

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; further:
  • Inspection (viewing).
    • Skin, mucous membranes, and sclerae (white part of the eye) [jaundice (jaundice), exanthema (rash)]
    • Abdomen (abdomen)
      • Shape of the abdomen?
      • Skin color? Skin texture?
      • Efflorescences (skin changes)?
      • Pulsations? Bowel movements?
      • Visible vessels?
      • Scars? Hernias (fractures)?
  • Abdominal (stomach) examination [hepatomegaly (liver enlargement)?]
    • 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 splenomegaly (spleen enlargement): estimate liver and spleen size.
    • Palpation (palpation) of the abdomen (abdomen) (tenderness?, knocking pain?, coughing pain?, defensive tension?, hernial orifices?, kidney bearing knocking pain?).

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