Abdominal Exam

Question 1

What are the two places the lymphatic system dumps lymph into?

Answer 1

Right subclavian vein

Thoracic duct

Question 2

Right side of face, right shoulder, right chest and right arm all drain into?

Answer 2

Right sublcavian vein

Question 3

What is the alimentary tract?

Answer 3

Runs from your mouth to your anus. Pretty much the whole GI tract.

Question 4

What does the liver do, what quadrant is it in?

Answer 4

RUQ, metabolizes, detoxifies, produces antibodies and clotting factors.

Question 5

Gallbladder: where and what does it do?

Answer 5

RUQ, inferior to liver, produces and stores bile, emulsifies fats in the intestines and controls pH there too.

Question 6

Spleen: where and what does it do?

Answer 6

LUQ, filters blood, manufactures some leukocytes

Question 7

Pancreas: where and what does it do?

Answer 7

LUQ, produces digestive juices, secretes them into duodenum

Question 8

Stomach: where and what does it do?

Answer 8

LUQ, digests food

Question 9

Small intestine: where and what it do?

Answer 9

Duodenum, jejunum, ileum, involved in digestion

Question 10

Large intestine… where and what it do?

Answer 10

reabsorbs…. located all over the place

Question 11

Kidney: where and what it do?

Answer 11

RUQ and LUQ. Filters blood, creates urine.

Question 12

Appendix: where located?

Answer 12

RLQ

Question 13

When examining the abdomen, what is the order of examinations?

Answer 13

Inspection, auscultation, percussion/palpation

Question 14

Where should tympany be felt in the abdomen?

Answer 14

Everywhere until you hit muscle on flanks. Or over poop. or over the liver.

Question 15

What is the normal liver size?

Answer 15

6-12 cm

Question 16

If you percuss over the spleen and hear dullness, what could it mean?

Answer 16

Splenomegaly

Question 17

When percussing the kidneys, should you use light or blunt percussion?

Answer 17

Blunt

Question 18

What are borborygmi, and what is a “normal” amount?

Answer 18

stomach sounds, clicks and gurgles, 5-35 per minute

Question 19

Why should you do a rectal, pelvic, and/or a GU exam as a part of the abdominal exam?

Answer 19

Because any pain felt in the abdominal region cannot really be ruled as GI pain without first examining these other areas and ruling them out.

Question 20

Ballotement

Answer 20

technique to estimate the size of an organ not near the surface when there is ascites - kind of like dribbling a basketball with one finger, except over the organ in question

Question 21

Grey turner sign

Answer 21

Purple bruised areas on the flanks, sign of retroperitoneal hemorrhage, goes along with cullen sign sometimes

Question 22

Shifting dullness

Answer 22

Test used for ascites involving percussing the abdomen on the pt while supine and on side… Gravity makes the ascites move locations.

Question 23

Murphy sign

Answer 23

Test for inflamed gallbladder - pt inhales while you palpate deep, they will stop inhaling if there is pain

Question 24

Fluid wave

Answer 24

test for ascites - pt puts hand on midline of abdomen, then you tap one side of the abdomen while feeling for a fluid wave on the other side.

Question 25

Rovsing sign

Answer 25

Deep palpation in the LLQ gives pain in the RLQ - sign of acute appendicitis

Question 26

Psoas sign

Answer 26

Supine pt raises leg against practitioner pushing downward, if painful suggests irritation of posts muscle

Question 27

Mcburney sign

Answer 27

Pain here (1/3 the distance between iliac crest and umbilicus) means acute appendicitis

Question 28

Obturator test

Answer 28

Supine patient, flexed at knee and hip, practitioner rotates leg back and forth, if pain, means irritation of obturator muscle

Question 29

Rebound tenderness

Answer 29

testing if there is more pain on direct palpation, or when the hand is moved away quickly

Question 30

heel jar test

Answer 30

test for peritoneal inflammation. Pt drops onto heels from toes.

Question 31

CVA tenderness

Answer 31

test for kidney tenderness. Blunt percussion.

Question 32

Hematochezia

Answer 32

Bright red blood in doodoo

Question 33

constipation

Answer 33

can’t make doodoo

Question 34

hematemesis

Answer 34

vomiting blood

Question 35

dysphagia

Answer 35

painful swallowing

Question 36

melena

Answer 36

dark poop due to degrading of hemoglobin

Question 37

globus

Answer 37

feeling of having a lump in the throat

Question 38

nausea

Answer 38

uneasy feeling in abdomen

Question 39

flatus

Answer 39

a fart

Question 40

singultus

Answer 40

hiccups

Question 41

reflux

Answer 41

acid from stomach flows back into esophagus

Question 42

gastroparesis

Answer 42

stomach’s motility not working well

Question 43

Eructation

Answer 43

a belch.