percuss
Thump to examine
To percuss is to tap sharply, especially as a medical diagnostic technique.
Doctors percuss a patient's chest or abdomen, listening to the sounds produced to assess what lies beneath—fluid, air, or solid tissue.
The physician percussed her back to check for lung congestion.
The word also applies more broadly to striking or tapping any surface.
Forceful impact or stoppage
Medical listening examination
- palpationMedical examination by touch
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- chestRibcage region or strongbox
- abdomenTorso's lower cavity
thorax · clinical · examination · tapping · resonance · dullness · tympany · stethoscope
strike
Forceful impact or stoppage
thump · hit · beat · blow · pound · hammer · jolt · force · contact
auscultation
Medical listening examination
- palpationMedical examination by touch
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- chestRibcage region or strongbox
abdomen · thorax · clinical · examination · tapping · resonance · dullness · tympany · stethoscope · assessment
timpani
Tunable orchestral percussion
mallets · sticks · kit · drummer · beat · rhythm · roll · strike · tap · groove
resonance
Amplified oscillation at natural frequency
oscillation · echo · reverberation · acoustics · harmonics · timbre · sustain · amplitude · pitch · sonority
percussauscultate
Examine by hearing
listen · inspect · auscultation · palpate · observe
- percussion sectionStruck instrument players
- body percussionSounds from striking oneself
- keyboard percussionTuned bars struck with mallets
- percussion instrumentsInstruments played by striking
- tuned percussionStruck instruments with pitch
- hand percussionInstruments played by striking directly
repercussion, percussion, repercussions, percussive, percutaneous, percussions, repercussive, percussively, percussing