A physical exam is used to evaluate health and to detect illness or disease.
A "physical" is often mandated for employment or for insurance purposes. As well, all persons should have a routine yearly physical.
Doctors typically check the following areas when doing a routine physical exam.
1. Vital Signs
2. Head
3. Ears
4. Eyes
5. Nose
6. Mouth and Pharynx
7. Neck
8. Posterior thorax-lung exam
9. Anterior thorax-lung exam
10. Cranial Nerves
11. Posterior thorax
12. Axillae
13. Cardiovascular
14. Abdomen
15. Upper extremity-MSK and Partial Neurological
16. Lower extremity
17. Neurological
18. Back and spine
If the appointment is to check a previous condition (such as high blood pressure), or to diagnose an acute condition (such as a cough), the list of areas to be checked will be focused to the problem.
All primary care physicians do routine physicals.
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