Head, Face, Neck, & Lymph Nodes Flashcards
Head is normal
Normocephalic
small head (e.g. Rhett syndrome)
Microcephalic
large heads (e.g. hydrocephalus)
Macrocephalic
Fontanels
soft spot (in skull)
Posterior fontanels closes by when?
2 months
Anterior fontanels closes by when?
2 years
Sunken fontanel is a sign of what?
dehydration
Bulging fontanel is a sign of what?
swelling b/c of bleeding
A distinctive facial expression that is a characteristic of a medical condition
Facies
Examples of Facies
Fetal alcohol syndrome (smooth upper lip, thin upper lip,short eye openings)
Parkinson’s disease (expressionless)
Down’s syndrome
Most important type of Facies
STROKE (“FAST”)
F-face, A-arm, S-speech, T-time to call 911
When assessing the Trachea, what should you check for?
Should be midline
Inspect or palpate for any deviation to the left or right
When assessing the thyroid, what do you do first?
inspection
Palpate the thyroid using _____ or _____ approach
anterior or posterior
what should you note when assessing the thyroid?
size, consistency, symmetry, presence of nodules
small, oval clumps
these filter extravascular fluid before it returns to the bloodstream
Lymph Nodes
Where are the lymph nodes located?
throughout the body
Where is the greatest supply of Lymph Nodes?
in the head and neck
If you can palpate the supraclavicular lymph node this could be sign of what?
lung or gastric cancer
Normal Lymph nodes are:
moveable, discrete, soft, and nontender
Lymph node sizes decrease with ___ ?
age
If lymph nodes are enlarged or tender, you should look for what?
the source of the problem
If a lymph node is infected, what are the characteristics?
enlarged, bilateral (both sides), warm, tender, & freely moveable
If there is a chance of cancer on the lymph node, what are the characteristics?
Enlarged (>3 cm), unilateral (one sided), nontender, matted (stuck to tissue around it), fixed
A single, large, hard, non-tender left supraclavicular lymph node is an what?
ominous(bad) sign
