General Inspection & Integument

Question 1

The General Survey includes (11 things)…

Answer 1

1. Apparent state of health
2. Level of consciousness
3. Signs of distress
4. Skin color and obvious lesions
5. Dress/grooming/personal hygeine
6. Facial Expression
7. Odors of the body/breath
8. Posture/gait/motor activity
9. Height and weight
10. Waist circumference
11. BMI

Question 2

Anatomic Position

Answer 2

• erect body
• Feet parallel
• eyes forward
• arms to sides
• palms forward

Question 3

Planes

Answer 3

A flat surface passing through the body and dividing it into segments

Question 4

Coronal/Frontal Plane

Answer 4

Passing longitudinally through body from one side to the other dividing the body into anterior and posterior portions

Question 5

Sagittal Plane

Answer 5

Passing longitudinally through the body from front to back and diving it into right and left portions

Question 6

Transverse/Horizontal Plane

Answer 6

Passing horizontally through the body diving it into upper and lower portions

Question 7

Axis

Answer 7

• imaginary line about which motions occur

- axes are perpendicular to the anatomic plane

Question 8

Anterior-Posterior Axis

Answer 8

• runs perpendicular to the coronal/frontal plane

- sidebending

Question 9

Transverse Axis

Answer 9

• runs perpendicular to the sagittal plane

- flexion and extension

Question 10

Longitudinal Axis

Answer 10

• runs perpendicular to the transverse plane

- rotation

Question 11

Posture

Answer 11

• Position of the body, distribution of body mass in relation to gravity
• Ideal posture and alignment is in relation to the gravitational line

Question 12

Gravitational Line

Answer 12

• in viewing the patient from the side, an imaginary line in a coronal plane which starts at or slightly anterior to the lateral malleolus, passes across the lateral condyle of the knee, the greater trochanter, through the lateral head of the humerus at the tip of the shoulder to the external auditory meatus
• if through the body, it would intersect body of third lumbar vertebra (L3 or L2), and anterior sacrum

Question 13

Posture Compensation

Answer 13

• occurs in all three planes of body motion to keep the body balanced and eyes level
• spinal compensation involves proprioception from tendons and muscles as well as vestibular information from the semicircular canals and integrates this information with the information from the eyes

Question 14

Step Length

Answer 14

heel of right foot to heel on left foot

Question 15

Stride length

Answer 15

heel on right foot to heel on right foot

Question 16

Skin, Hair, Nails: what are we looking for?

Answer 16

1. Skin: color, uniformity, thickness, symmetry, hygiene, lesions, orders
2. Hair: color, distribution, density, texture, fragility
3. Nails: pigmentation of nail plates and nail beds, length, symmetry, surface changes (peeling, pitting, ridging)