INDS 111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Medical Diagnosis, Medical Ultrasound, Physical Examination

• School: McGill University
• Department: Interndisciplinary Studies
• Course: INDS 111
• Professor: Anne Andermann

Document Summary

Physical examination: it is the study of the patient using one"s senses often with the aid of an instrument. Components of the physical: vital signs. 2 500 bc: yellow emperor"s book of internal medicine described inspection. Convenient diagnostic method for abnormalities of skin and muscles. Only practical way (ie. portable and non-invasive), to follow abnormalities on a daily basis: often referred to as physical diagnosis . Ie: we can"t do an mri every day, but we could do a physical frequently: especially important in the er. to assess function, to follow response to treatment. Allows one to remain constantly aware of the normal variation: not all people are the same. Gives legitimate reason for touching the patient: patients expect a physical. However, some people believe that many aspects of the clinical method are soft and subjective and don"t represent the core of clinical practice. Others argue that the essence of practice is science, objective evidence-based knowledge and technology.