patient examination

Doctor evaluates someone

A patient examination is a medical professional's systematic assessment of a patient's body and health status.

The physical exam typically includes checking vital signs, inspecting, palpating, and listening to various body systems: The doctor performed a thorough patient examination before ordering tests.

The term can also describe any careful, methodical inspection conducted with patience.

head to toeCovering the whole body
palpationMedical examination by touch
blood pressureCirculatory force measurement
heart rateCardiac contractions per minute
primary careFirst-line medical services

bedside manner · chief complaint · diagnosis · auscultation · cardiovascular system · emergency medicine · percussion · nervous system · respiratory system · screening · pediatrics · differential diagnosis · geriatrics · internal medicine · risk assessment · gastrointestinal tract · monitoring · imaging

Opposites

source of assessment

patient examinationself-diagnosis

Identifying your own condition

self-examination · self-assessment

diagnostic approach

patient examinationremote monitoring

Observing from a distance

automated testing

treatment phase

patient examinationmedical intervention

Clinical action treating illness

surgical procedure · therapy session · discharge · recovery phase · aftercare

Family

patient, examination, patience, patiently, impatient, impatience, impatiently, patients, examine

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