Plasmocytoma: 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; furthermore:
    • Inspection (viewing).
      • Skin, mucous membranes and sclerae (white part of the eye) [leading symptom: night sweats].
      • Abdomen (abdomen)
        • Shape of the abdomen?
        • Skin color? Skin texture?
        • Efflorescences (skin changes)?
        • Pulsations? Bowel movements?
        • Visible vessels?
        • Scars? Hernias (fractures)?
    • Inspection and palpation (palpation) of the lymph node stations (cervical, axillary, supraclavicular, inguinal).
    • Inspection and palpation of the spine [leading symptom: bone pain and musculoskeletal pain, especially in the back; increasing with movement].
    • Inspection of extremities [leading symptom: bone pain and musculoskeletal pain, especially in the back; increasing with movement]
    • Auscultation (listening) of the heart.
    • Auscultation of the lungs [accompanying symptom: exertional dyspnea (shortness of breath on exertion)]
    • Palpation of the abdomen (abdomen) (tenderness?, knocking pain?, coughing pain?, defensive tension?, hernial orifices?, kidney bearing knocking pain?)
  • If necessary, neurological examination [concomitant symptoms or possible sequelae:
    • Cephalgia (headache)
    • Polyneuropathy (nerve damage affecting multiple nerves)]

    [due todifferential diagnosis: cephalgia (headache)]

  • If necessary, orthopedic examination [concomitant symptoms or possible sequelae: pathological fractures (bone fracture during normal stress due to a weakening of the bone by a disease)] [due todifferential diagnoses:
    • Fractures (bone fractures) of all types.
    • Osteoporosis (bone loss)
    • Rheumatism or rheumatic diseases]
  • If necessary, urological / nephrological examination [concomitant symptom or possible sequelae: nephrotic syndrome – collective term for symptoms that occur in various diseases of the glomerulus (renal corpuscles); proteinuria (increased excretion of protein in the urine) with a protein loss of more than 1 g/m² KOF/d; hypoproteinemia, peripheral edema due to hypalbuminemia of < 2.5 g/dl in serum; hyperliporpoteinemia (lipid metabolism disorder)] [due todifferential diagnosis: renal disease]
  • Health check (as an additional follow-up measure).

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