Canadian Medical Guide > Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment > Diagnosis > Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures > Physical Examination Terms and Definitions

Physical Examination

Medical Definition:	Systematic and thorough inspection of the patient for physical signs of disease or abnormality.
Guide Notes:	NEUROLOGIC EXAMINATION is also available; DF: PHYSICAL EXAM
Also Called:	Physical Examinations and Diagnoses

Physical Examination Categories.

	Apgar Score - A method, developed by Dr. Virginia Apgar, to evaluate a newborn's adjustment to extrauterine life. Five items - heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color - are evaluated 60 seconds after birth and again five minutes later on a scale from 0-2, 0 being the lowest, 2 being normal. The five numbers are added for the Apgar score. A score of 0-3 represents severe distress, 4-7 indicates moderate distress, and a score of 7-10 predicts an absence of difficulty in adjus ting to extrauterine life.
	Auscultation - Act of listening for sounds within the body.
	Body Constitution - The physical characteristics of the body, including the mode of performance of functions, the activity of metabolic processes, the manner and degree of reactions to stimuli, and power of resistance to the attack of pathogenic organisms.
	Body Temperature
	Cephalometry - Scientific measurement of the dimensions of the head. In dentistry, certain combinations of measurements developed from tracing the oriented lateral and frontal radiographic head film are used to assess craniofacial growth and development and to determine the nature of the orthodontic treatment response.
	Facial Expression - Observable changes of expression in the face in response to emotional stimuli.
	Gait - Manner or style of walking.
	Hand Strength - Force exerted when gripping or grasping.
	Palpation - Application of fingers with light pressure to the surface of the body to determine consistence of parts beneath in physical diagnosis; includes palpation for determining the outlines of organs.
	Percussion - Act of striking a part with short, sharp blows as an aid in diagnosing the condition beneath the sound obtained.
	Pigmentation - Coloration or discoloration of a part by a pigment.
	Range of Motion, Articular - Range through which a joint can be extended and flexed. This is frequently assessed following surgery of the joint.
	Self-Examination - The inspection of one's own body, usually for signs of disease (e.g., BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION, testicular self-examination).
	Skinfold Thickness - The measurement of subcutaneous fat located directly beneath the skin by grasping a fold of skin and subcutaneous fat between the thumb and forefinger and pulling it away from the underlying muscle tissue. The thickness of the double layer of skin and subcutaneous tissue is then read with a caliper. The five most frequently measured sites are the upper arm, below the scapula, above the hip bone, the abdomen, and the thigh. Its application is the determination of relative fatness, of changes in physical conditioning programs, and of the percentage of body fat in desirable body weight. (From McArdle, et al., Exercise Physiology, 2d ed, p496-8)

Physical Examination Medical Definitions and Terms

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