normal and abnormal findings mouth and throat

Question 1

Q: What are normal findings for the lips?

Answer 1

A: Pink, moist, smooth; no cracks or lesions.

Question 2

Q: What are abnormal findings for the lips?

Answer 2

A: Cheilitis (cracks at corners), herpes simplex (cold sores), pallor (shock/anemia), cyanosis (hypoxemia), cherry red (CO poisoning).

Question 3

Q: What are normal findings for the teeth?

Answer 3

A: White, straight, evenly spaced; clean, free of debris or decay.

Question 4

Q: What are abnormal findings for the teeth?

Answer 4

A: Dental caries, discolored teeth (brown with fluoride, yellow with smoking), grinding, malocclusion.

Question 5

Q: What are normal findings for the gums?

Answer 5

A: Pink or coral with a stippled surface; tight margins.

Question 6

Q: What are abnormal findings for the gums?

Answer 6

A: Bleeding, swelling (gingivitis), hyperplasia, dark line (lead poisoning), spongy or receding gums.

Question 7

Q: What are normal findings for the tongue?

Answer 7

A: Pink, even; dorsal surface roughened with papillae; ventral surface smooth and moist.

Question 8

Q: What are abnormal findings for the tongue?

Answer 8

A: Beefy red tongue (vitamin deficiencies), white coating (thrush), dry fissures (dehydration), macroglossia (enlarged tongue).

Question 9

Q: What are normal findings for the buccal mucosa?

Answer 9

A: Pink, smooth, moist

Question 10

Q: What are abnormal findings for the buccal mucosa?

Answer 10

A: Leukoplakia (white patch), candida infection (thrush), Koplik spots (measles), leukoedema (benign grey patches).

Question 11

Q: What are normal findings for the palate?

Answer 11

A: Hard palate: white with transverse rugae; soft palate: pink and smooth.

Question 12

Q: What are abnormal findings for the palate?

Answer 12

A: Yellow hard palate (jaundice), nodular ridge (torus palatinus), Kaposi’s sarcoma, cleft palate.

Question 13

Q: What are normal findings for the uvula?

Answer 13

A: Midline position; rises symmetrically with “ahh” (cranial nerve X function intact).

Question 14

Q: What are abnormal findings for the uvula?

Answer 14

A: Bifid uvula, deviation, absence of movement (nerve damage).

Question 15

Q: What are normal findings for the tonsils?

Answer 15

A: Pink, same color as mucosa; surface with small crypts; graded 1+ to 2+ in healthy people.

Question 16

Q: What are abnormal findings for the tonsils?

Answer 16

A: Enlarged, bright red, swollen tonsils with exudates (infection), white membrane (mono, diphtheria), crypt debris

Question 17

Q: What are normal findings for the posterior pharyngeal wall?

Answer 17

A: Pink, smooth, no exudates or lesions.

Question 18

Q: What are abnormal findings for the posterior pharyngeal wall?

Answer 18

A: Redness, swelling, exudates (pharyngitis), lesions, or masses

Question 19

Q: What are normal findings for breath odor?

Answer 19

A: No unusual odor.

Question 20

Q: What do abnormal breath odors indicate?

Answer 20

A: Fruity (ketoacidosis), ammonia (uremia), foul (infections), musty (liver disease), alcohol (ingestion).

Question 21

Q: What are normal findings for swallowing?

Answer 21

A: Swallowing is smooth without pain or obstruction.

Question 22

Q: What are abnormal findings for swallowing?

Answer 22

A: Painful swallowing (dysphagia), aspiration, food stuck in throat, wet voice, or drooling.

Question 23

Q: What are normal findings for the voice?

Answer 23

A: Clear without hoarseness.

Question 24

Q: What are abnormal findings for the voice?

Answer 24

A: Hoarseness, “lump in throat” sensation, or loss of voice (overuse, inflammation, lesions, nerve damage).