The physician evaluates a patient's body by inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. What is this process called?

• A. Physical Examination (PE)
• B. History and Physical
• C. Diagnostic Imaging
• D. Laboratory Testing

Answer: (D)

The concept being tested is the physical examination, the hands-on assessment doctors perform using four classic techniques: inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. Inspection means visually evaluating the patient for general appearance, signs of distress, or abnormal findings. Palpation involves feeling the body with the hands to assess texture, temperature, tenderness, masses, or organ size. Percussion is tapping on surfaces to evaluate underlying densities and borders, helping to distinguish air-filled from solid structures. Auscultation is listening with a stethoscope to hear heart, lung, and bowel sounds, as well as any abnormal noises like murmurs.

This exam is the physical examination component of the History and Physical, the encounter that combines patient history with objective findings. It is distinct from diagnostic imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound) and from laboratory testing (blood tests, urine tests), which provide data in different ways. Mastery of these four techniques enables clinicians to detect abnormalities such as tenderness, organ enlargement, abnormal breath sounds, or heart murmurs.