NSE 13A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Palpation, Spasticity, Auscultation
Document Summary
Close, careful scrutiny first of the individual patient as a whole and then of each body system. Palpation: apply your sense of touch to assess texture, temperature, moisture, organ location and size, as well as swelling, vibration, or pulsation, rigidity or spasticity, crepitation, presence of lumps or masses, and presence of tenderness or pain. Fingertips are best for fine tactile discrimination (the ability to differentiate information received though the sense of touch) such as skin texture, swelling, pulsation and determining presence of lumps. Fingers and thumb: detect position, shape, and consistency of organ or mass through grasping action. Back of hands and fingers: temperature since skin is thinner there. Percussion: taping a person"s skin with short, sharp strokes to assess underlying structures. Map our location and size of an organ by exploring where the percussion note changes between borders. Signalling the density (air, fluid, solid) of a structure by a characteristic noise. Electing pain if the underlying structure is inflamed.
