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) [due topossible symptoms: icterus (jaundice); pruritus (itching)]
- 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.
- Examination 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): throbbing pain over gallbladder region and right lower rib [occurrence: common]]
- Palpation (palpation) of the abdomen (abdomen) with the search for defensive tension and resistances (pressure pain?, knocking pain?, coughing pain?, defensive tension?, hernial ports?, renal bearing knocking pain?) [pressing and recurrent cramp-like pain attacks lasting more than 15 minutes, localized in the right upper abdomen and may radiate along the right costal arch into the right shoulder blade].
- Percussion (tapping) of the abdomen
- Inspection (viewing).
- Cancer screening [due topossible secondary diseases, esp:
- Health check
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.
