Vaginitis, Colpitis: Examination

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
    • Abdominal wall and inguinal region (groin area).
• Gynecological examination
  • Inspection
    • Vulva (external, primary female reproductive organs) [vesicles, scratch marks, if any; thrush and redness, if any, ulcer (boil), other conspicuous skin lesions].
    • Speculum setting:
      • Vagina (vagina)
        • [in thrush colpitis: white, potty, odorous fluorine (discharge).
        • [in amine colpitis: often grayish-white, thin fluorine with a fishy odor.
        • In trichomonad colpitis: abundant foamy, often yellowish, thin fluid fluorine with burning in the vagina, malodorous (fishy due to amines).
      • Portio / cervix uteri (cervix) [cervical fluorine due to e.g. chlamydia, gonorrhea?] possibly also taking a Pap smear (eg after inflammatory therapy due topathological cytology / pathological cell findings).
  • Palpation (bimanual; palpation with both hands) of the internal genital organs.
    • Cervix uteri (cervix).
    • Uterus (uterus) [Normal: anteflexed/angled anteriorly, normal size, no tenderness].
    • Adnexa (appendages of the uterus, i.e., the ovary (ovary) and uterine tubule (fallopian tube)) [Normal: free]
    • Parametria (pelvic connective tissue in front of the cervix to the urinary bladder and on both sides to the lateral pelvic wall) [Normal: free].
    • Pelvic walls [Normal: free]
    • Douglas space (pocket-like bulge of the peritoneum (abdominal wall) between the rectum (rectum) at the back and the uterus (uterus) at the front) [Normal: clear].
• Health check

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