The Chest Examination
THE CHEST EXAMINATION
Physical examination of the chest
The chest indicates the region that lies under the neck and above the abdomen. Chest wall is composed of sternum, ribs, and vertebras. The anterior part is a little shorter than the posterior part. Chest examination includes many components: chest shape, chest wall, breasts, vessels, mediastinum, bronchus, lung, pleura, heart, and lymph nodes, etc. In addition to general physical examination, the following check methods have been widely used in clinical work: X-ray topography, lung function test, blood-gas analysis, aetiology, histology, and relevant bio-chemical tests. These methods can provide early stages of abnormality and pathogens, even give out exact diagnosis on pathology and pathogenesis, but, many changes in palpation, percussion and auscultation for all kinds of rales, can not be detected through these methods so they can’t completely replace the basic physical examinations till now. The basic physical examination has long been used clinically, which doesn’t need high-quality equippment, handy for use to provide important information and signs for the diagnosis of the chest diseases. Of course, a correct diagnosis depends not only on the basic physical examination, but also other supplementary examinations and the ill history should be emphasized in synthetical consideration. Traditional physical examination of the chest includes four methods, inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. The examination should be performed in warm circumstance with well light. The patient should expose the chest to the full, in sitting or supine position according to the need for the examination or the ill condition, and be examined thoroughly with the sequence of inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. In general, the anterior and the lateral part is examined first, then the posterior part, this may overcome the tendency that only percussion and auscultation be cared but
Physical examination of the chest
The chest indicates the region that lies under the neck and above the abdomen. Chest wall is composed of sternum, ribs, and vertebras. The anterior part is a little shorter than the posterior part. Chest examination includes many components: chest shape, chest wall, breasts, vessels, mediastinum, bronchus, lung, pleura, heart, and lymph nodes, etc. In addition to general physical examination, the following check methods have been widely used in clinical work: X-ray topography, lung function test, blood-gas analysis, aetiology, histology, and relevant bio-chemical tests. These methods can provide early stages of abnormality and pathogens, even give out exact diagnosis on pathology and pathogenesis, but, many changes in palpation, percussion and auscultation for all kinds of rales, can not be detected through these methods so they can’t completely replace the basic physical examinations till now. The basic physical examination has long been used clinically, which doesn’t need high-quality equippment, handy for use to provide important information and signs for the diagnosis of the chest diseases. Of course, a correct diagnosis depends not only on the basic physical examination, but also other supplementary examinations and the ill history should be emphasized in synthetical consideration. Traditional physical examination of the chest includes four methods, inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. The examination should be performed in warm circumstance with well light. The patient should expose the chest to the full, in sitting or supine position according to the need for the examination or the ill condition, and be examined thoroughly with the sequence of inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation. In general, the anterior and the lateral part is examined first, then the posterior part, this may overcome the tendency that only percussion and auscultation be cared but