Unit 3 - Digestive system - phys. exam terms

Question 1

Listening to the sounds made by the body using a stethoscope?

Answer 1

auscultation

Question 2

No bowel sounds can be heard.

Answer 2

absent bowel sounds (0BS)

Question 3

loud rumbling & gurgling noise.

Answer 3

borborygmus

Question 4

rapid, high pitched loud gurgling sounds.

Answer 4

hyperactive

Question 5

a reduction in the loudness, tone or regularity of bowel sounds.

Answer 5

hypoactive

Question 6

Examining the size, consistency, texture, location & tenderness of an organ or body part by feeling with the hands.

Answer 6

palpation

Question 7

moving away or flinching when a tender area of the abdomen is touched.

Answer 7

guarding

Question 8

pain that occurs when a hand pressing on the abdomen is suddenly released?

Answer 8

rebound tenderness or Blumbergs sign.

Question 9

Pain on deep inspiration that occurs when the fingers are pressed under the ribcage, indicating an inflamed gallbladder.

Answer 9

Murphys sign

Question 10

Inability or refusal to swallow?

Answer 10

aphagia

Question 11

Loss of appetite?

Answer 11

anorexia

Question 12

abnormal collection of fluid in the peritoneal cavity?

Answer 12

ascites - not normally evident until more than 1.5 litres has accumulated.

Question 13

grinding of teeth?

Answer 13

bruxism

Question 14

obstruction of the flow of bile.

Answer 14

cholestasis

Question 15

acute abdominal pain, often spasmodic?

Answer 15

colic

Question 16

difficulty eliminating faeces?

Answer 16

constipation

Question 17

disturbed digestion or gastric discomfort, such as fullness, heartburn,bloating & nausea that occur after eating?

Answer 17

dyspepsia

Question 18

difficulty swallowing?

Answer 18

dysphagia

Question 19

pain over the pit of the stomach?

Answer 19

epigastric pain

Question 20

Pain in the tongue, on the lips or the entire mouth?

Answer 20

glossodynia or burning mouth syndrome.

Question 21

the state of having bad breath?

Answer 21

halitosis

Question 22

yellowish-orange colouring of the skin & sclerae (whites of the eyes)

Answer 22

jaundice

Question 23

passage of dark coloured, tarry stools, due to the presence of digested blood.

Answer 23

melaena (melena)

Question 24

unsettling sensation in the stomach with the urge to vomit.

Answer 24

nausea

Question 25

mottled redness of the palms seen in liver disease, malnutrition & rheumatoid arthritis.

Answer 25

palmar erythema

Question 26

bleeding from the rectum.

Answer 26

per rectal bleeding or haematochezia

Question 27

excessive eating.

Answer 27

polyphagia

Question 28

intense itching around the anus

Answer 28

pruritus ani

Question 29

excessive secretion of saliva.

Answer 29

ptyalism

Question 30

an uncomfortable burning sensation in the lower chest.

Answer 30

pyrosis or heartburn

Question 31

bringing undigested food up from the stomach to the oesophagus or mouth.

Answer 31

regurgitation

Question 32

fatty stools, excessive amount of fat in the faeces.

Answer 32

steatorrhoea

Question 33

straining or feeling the need to defaecate without being able to do so.

Answer 33

tenesmus

Question 34

recurring attacks of vomitting.

Answer 34

cyclic