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, mucous membranes and sclerae (white part of the eye).
- Inspection and palpation (palpation) of the thyroid gland and lymph nodes [due todifferential diagnosis: struma multinodosa – nodular change of thyroid tissue; thyroid carcinoma – malignant neoplasm of the thyroid].
- Auscultation (listening) of the heart [bradycardia (heartbeat too slow: < 60 beats per minute)]
- Inspection of the mammae (breasts), right and left; the nipple (breast), right and left; and the skin [Normal: unremarkable; furthermore, note the following:
- Galactorrhea/diseased breast milk discharge (due tothe possible sequelae hyperprolactinemia/elevation of prolactin levels in the blood)]
- Palpation of the mammae, both supraclavicular pits (upper clavicular pits) and axillae (axillae) [Normal: unremarkable].
- Inspection (viewing).
- Health check
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.