EMILLYCHARLOTTE 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YAER
©2024 EMILLYCHARLOTTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH SEPTEMBER 2024
Health Assessment Exam #1 (Ch.
1,3,4,8,9,10,12,18,27,29) Questions and
Answers | 100% Pass
What does the health history provide? - Answer✔✔-Subjective and objective data
What is subjective data? what is an example? - Answer✔✔-SD is what the patient
tells you
Example: headache, chest pain
What is objective data? what is an example? - Answer✔✔-OD are the signs
perceived by the examiner through physical examination during assessment
Example: rash seen by a nurse, or temp taken with a thermometer
In what order are skills performed during a typical assessment? - Answer✔✔-1.
Inspection
2. Palpation
3. Percussion
4. Auscultation
If a patient has abdomen pain, what order do you do the assessment? Why? -
Answer✔✔-1. Inspection
2. AUSCULTATION
3. Palpation
4. Percussion
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,EMILLYCHARLOTTE 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YAER
©2024 EMILLYCHARLOTTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH SEPTEMBER 2024
Because of pain, don't touch or tap the tender area first. Start by inspecting and then
listening before you feel the area.
What occurs during inspection, the first step? - Answer✔✔--ALWAYS COMES FIRST
-begins when you first meet a person w/ a general survey
-you should start assessment of each body system with inspection
-requires: good lighting, adequate exposure, use of instruments including otoscope,
opthalmoscope, penlight, or specula
What occurs during palpation, the second step? - Answer✔✔-Palpation applies sense
of touch to assess
Can include:
temperature, texture, moisture, organ location and size, swelling, vibration or pulsation,
rigidity or spasticity, crepitation, presence of lumps or masses, presence of tenderness
or pain
-use fingers unless taking temperature
How can you assess factors during the palpation step? - Answer✔✔-by using
different parts of the hands
During palpation, what should fingertips be used to feel? - Answer✔✔--best for fine
tactile discrimination of skin texture, swelling, pulsation, and determining presence of
lumps
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,EMILLYCHARLOTTE 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YAER
©2024 EMILLYCHARLOTTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH SEPTEMBER 2024
During palpation, what should fingers and thumb be used for? - Answer✔✔--detection
of position, shape, and consistency of an organ or mass
During palpation, what should the dorsa of hands and fingers be used for? -
Answer✔✔--best for determining temperature because skin here is thinner than on
palms
During palpation, what should the base of fingers or the ulnar surface of hand be used
for? - Answer✔✔--best for vibration
**-vibrations are felt on the ulnar side of hand
During palpation, what type of palpation should you start with and why? What steps are
next? - Answer✔✔-1. start with LIGHT palpation to detect surface characteristics and
accustom person to being touched
-1 cm
2. then deeper palpations when needed
-intermittent pressure better than one long continuous palpation
-5 to 8 cm or 2-3 in
ALSO: bimanual palpation- requires use of both hands to envelop or capture certain
body parts or organs such as kidneys, uterus or adnexa for precise delimitation
What occurs during percussion, the third step? - Answer✔✔--consists of tapping a
person's skin with short, sharp strokes to assess underlying structures
What uses does percussion have? - Answer✔✔--mapping location and size of organs
-signaling density of a structure by a characteristic note
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, EMILLYCHARLOTTE 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YAER
©2024 EMILLYCHARLOTTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH SEPTEMBER 2024
-detecting a superficial abnormal mass
1. percussion vibrations penetrate about 5 cm
deep
2. deeper mass would give no change in percussion
-eliciting pain if underlying structure is inflamed
-eliciting deep tendon reflex using percussion hammer
HOLLOW (AIR-FILLED) ORGANS SOUND DIFFERENT THAN SOLID ORGANS -
Answer✔✔-
What are the two methods of percussion? - Answer✔✔-1. Direct, or immediate, which
is when the striking hand directly contacts body wall
2. Indirect, or mediate, is when you use both hands and the striking hand contacts
stationary hand fixed on person's skin
In regards to percussion, what is resonance and where does it occur? - Answer✔✔-
Resonance is low pitch and it occurs over normal lungs
In regards to percussion, what is hyperresonant and where does it occur? -
Answer✔✔-Hyperresonant is lower pitch and it occurs over child's lungs
In regards to percussion, what is tympany and where does it occur? - Answer✔✔-
Tympany is high pitch and it occurs over air filled organs (stomach, intestines)
In regards to percussion, what is dull and where does it occur? - Answer✔✔-Dull is
high pitch and it occurs over solid organs (liver, spleen)
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