Physical examination and clinical signs

Abdominal examination

Abdominal examination is a bedside physical exam in which a clinician inspects, palpates, percusses, and auscultates the abdomen to assess the abdominal organs and detect disease.

Abdominal rigidity, also called involuntary guarding or rigid abdomen, is involuntary stiffness of the abdominal wall muscles from parietal peritoneal irritation, chiefly peritonitis; a peritoneal sign of the acute abdomen, coded ICD-11 ME02, that cannot be voluntarily relaxed.

Abdominal tenderness

Abdominal tenderness is pain elicited by pressure on the abdomen during physical examination, ranging from mild to severe, and often signals inflammation of an organ or the peritoneum.

Abnormal bowel sounds

Abnormal bowel sounds, also called hypoactive, hyperactive, or absent bowel sounds, are altered intestinal noises on auscultation, linked to obstruction, ileus, and necrosis risk; human assessment is inaccurate while computerized analysis shows promise for IBS.

Abnormal Reflex (procedure)

Abnormal reflex: a neurological examination finding and procedure covering increased, decreased, or absent reflexes (hyperreflexia, hyporeflexia), graded on scales such as Mayo and NINDS, indicating upper or lower motor neuron lesions.

Abnormal sputum

Abnormal sputum (ICD-11 MD10; ICD-10-CM R09.3) is a clinical sign of altered sputum quantity, color, consistency, or odor suggesting respiratory disease, distinguished from blood-stained sputum and hemoptysis.

Absent bowel sounds

Absent bowel sounds (absent peristalsis, ICD-11 ME03.1): no intestinal sounds heard on abdominal auscultation, associated with ileus, bowel obstruction, ischemia, and peritonitis; diagnostic accuracy of auscultation is low.

Acoustic rhinometry

Acoustic rhinometry is a rapid, non-invasive otolaryngology test that measures nasal cavity cross-sectional area and volume from reflected sound pulses, used to assess nasal obstruction, including in children.

Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is a ten-question WHO screening questionnaire that detects hazardous drinking, harmful drinking, and possible alcohol dependence in health care settings.

Algometry

Algometry is a clinical measurement method that quantifies the pressure pain threshold, the minimal pressure inducing pain, used in pain medicine to assess tenderness and track treatment response.

Applanation tonometry

Applanation tonometry measures intraocular pressure by flattening a fixed area of the cornea with a calibrated probe; the Goldmann tonometer is the clinical gold standard for glaucoma care.

Arterial tonometry

Arterial tonometry is a noninvasive vascular diagnostic method in which a sensor pressed over a superficial artery records the pulse waveform, yielding central blood pressure and arterial stiffness measures.

Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis

Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), or impedance vector analysis, is a body composition method proposed by Antonio Piccoli in 1994 that assesses hydration and nutrition without prediction equations.

Bioimpedance measurement

Bioimpedance measurement is a clinical diagnostic method that passes a small alternating current through the body to estimate body composition, fluid status, and tissue properties, used for over a century.

Bioimpedance spectroscopy

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) is a clinical measurement technique that passes low-intensity alternating currents through body tissue at many frequencies to estimate fluid distribution, total body water, and body cell mass.

Blood pressure measurement

Blood pressure determination is noninvasive measurement of systolic and diastolic arterial pressure in mm Hg, by auscultatory Korotkoff sounds or validated oscillometric cuff devices, in office, home, and ambulatory settings.

Blood pressure monitoring

Blood pressure monitoring: repeated arterial BP measurement in office, home (HBPM), and 24-hour ambulatory (ABPM) settings to detect and manage hypertension, from Hales's 1733 equine experiment to validated oscillometric cuffs and not-yet-clinically-ready cuffless wearables.

Body adiposity index

The body adiposity index (BAI) estimates body fat percentage from hip circumference and height alone, proposed by Richard Bergman in 2011 as an alternative to BMI.

Bone age

Bone age, also called skeletal age, is an estimate of a child's biological maturity from an x-ray of the left hand and wrist, used to evaluate growth and puberty disorders.

Breast self-examination

Breast self-examination (BSE) is a screening method in which a woman inspects and palpates her own breasts to detect lumps, though large trials found no mortality benefit.

Capillaroscopy

Capillaroscopy, also called nailfold capillaroscopy, is the noninvasive in-vivo microscopy of capillaries, performed chiefly at the nailfold to detect the microvascular abnormalities of connective tissue diseases.

Cardiotocography

Cardiotocography (CTG), known in the United States as electronic fetal monitoring, records fetal heart rate and uterine contractions non-invasively to assess fetal well-being during labor.

Clinical breast examination

Clinical breast examination (CBE) is a physical exam in which a trained health provider inspects and palpates the breasts, nipples, and lymph nodes to detect lumps and other abnormalities.

Clinical interview

A clinical interview is a conversational assessment method in which a trained interviewer questions a respondent about symptoms and life circumstances to arrive at psychiatric diagnoses.

Clinical symptom

Clinical symptom: a subjective indication of disease felt and reported by the patient (pain, nausea, fatigue), contrasted with the objective clinical sign; classified in ICD-10-CM R00-R99 and ICD-11 Chapter 21.

Colposcopy

Colposcopy is a medical exam in which the cervix, vagina, and vulva are viewed through a magnifying colposcope, typically after abnormal cervical screening, often with a biopsy.

Continuous blood pressure monitoring

Continuous blood pressure monitoring is the beat-by-beat measurement of arterial pressure during surgery and critical care, with the invasive arterial catheter as the gold standard and noninvasive finger-cuff devices as alternatives.

Cornell Medical Index

The Cornell Medical Index (CMI) is a 195-question yes/no self-administered health questionnaire created in 1949 at Cornell University Medical College, widely used for medical history, screening, and epidemiology until its 1991 phase-out.

Corneometry

Corneometry is a dermatological technique that measures hydration of the stratum corneum, the skin's outermost layer, using a capacitive sensor pressed against the skin surface.