Tag Archives: Anatomical

Examination of Lymph Nodes.

June 6, 2015 AlanSidebottom Leave a comment

Brief Examination of the Lymph Nodes

The lymphatic system is a series of vessels throughout the body that drain fluid from tissues. Bacteria and other microbes are picked up in the lymphatic fluid and trapped inside the lymph nodes, where they can be attacked and destroyed by white blood cells. Common problems of the lymphatic system include Glandular Fever, Hodgkin’s disease, Oedema and tonsillitis.

Sequence: Inspect the patient for a visible lymphadenopathy (any disease of the lymph nodes). Afterwards, palpate the patient one side at a time, whilst comparing with the nodules on the contralateral side.

Assessment:

Site.
Size.
Consistency.
Tenderness.

One major side is on the left supraclavicular fossa (the seat of the Devil) – Virchow’s Node – Linked to abdomen cancer. Known as Troisier’s sign. Suspect this if the node is hard and enlarged above the average (0.5cm) and the max being 2.0cm. Fixation of lymph nodes also points towards malignancy. Consistency – Normal nodes feel soft. They can also feel tender (acute viral or bacterial infection). It is important to know that sometimes it is natural to have naturally large lymph nodes in some individuals. Proceed with caution anyway.

Thank you for reading! I hope you found this helpful! If you have anything to add, please let me know!

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Cranial Nerve Examination

March 8, 2015 AlanSidebottom Leave a comment

Full Cranial Nerve Examination For OS4.

The 12 Cranial Nerves are:

I Olfactory.
II Optic.
III Oculomotor.
IV Trochlear.
V Trigeminal.
VI Abducent.
VII Facial.
VIII Vestibulocochlear.
IX Glossopharyngeal.
X Vagus.
XI Accessory.
XII Hypoglossal.

The Cranial Nerves’ Song!! – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBuPzn_8UTc

Bear in mind that this is a rude way to remember the 12 cranial nerves, but please don’t be offended, its just for memory purposes. There are plenty of ‘clean’ options too on the internet. I use:

Oh, Oh, Oh, To, Touch, And, Feel, Virgin, Girl’s, Vaginas, Ahh!, Heaven.

Classification of Cranial Nerve Functions:

Sensory: Contain only afferent fibres:
I Olfactory.
II Optic.
VIII Vestibulocochlear.

Motor: Contains only efferent fibres:
III Oculomotor.
IV Trochlear.
VI Abducent.
XI Accessory.
XII Hypoglossal.

Mixed nerves: Contains both efferent and afferent fibres:
V Trigeminal.
VII Facial.
XI Glossopharyngeal.
X Vagus.

Mnemonic: Again, apologies for being rude, but there are ‘clean’ alternatives on the internet.

S= Sensory, M= Motor, B = Both.

Skinny Sluts Make,
Money But My,
Brother Says Big,
Bitches Make More.

I Olfactory, II Optic, III Oculomotor,
IV Trochlear, V Trigeminal, VI Abducent,
VII Facial, VIII Vestibulocochlear, IX Glossopharyngeal,
X Vagus, VI Accessory, XII Hypoglossal.

CN 1 – Olfactory Nerve:

Olfactory bulb origin.
Cribiform plate.
Sensory.
Vulnerable to:
- + Fractures.
- + Tumours.
- + Parkinson’s Disease. Progressive nervous system degeneration of the basal ganglia and a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Marked by tremor, muscular rigidity.
- + Huntington’s Disease. A hereditary disease. Degeneration of brain cells and causing chorea (Kaw-rea) and progressive dementia (memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning).
Disruption leads to loss of smell, full or partial.

Examination:
Patient closes one nostril and both eyes.
Present coffee to identify.

CN 2 – Optic Nerve:

Sensory.
Visual pathway from retina, chiasma, optic tracts leading to the visual cortex.
Disruption –> visual disturbances, visual agnosia (can see but can’t interpret the information), disturbances of perception and hallucinations.
How the pupils respond to light:
Direct and consensual response:
The direct response:
- + Meaning constriction of the illuminated pupil.
- + The direct response is impaired in lesions of the ipsilateral optic nerve, the pretectal area (midbrain structure), the ipsilateral parasympathetics traveling in CN III, or the pupillary constrictor muscle of the iris.
The consensual response:
- + Meaning constriction of the opposite pupil.
- + The consensual response is impaired in lesions of the contralateral optic nerve, the pretectal area, the ipsilateral parasympathetics traveling in CN III, or the pupillary constrictor muscle.
How it works:
Information enters via CN2 – Optic & activates CN3 – Oculomotor.
This is a consensual (both eyes are involved) parasympathetic reflex.
If only the eye being tested constricts, then there is damage to the crossing fibres (damage in the midbrain).

Examination:
Vision chart.
Colour blind test.
Visual reflexes:
- + Patient covers one eye, shine pen torch into one eye for approx 1 second. – Pupil constriction.
Accommodation:
- + Testing for the pupillary response. Normally the pupils constrict whilst fixating on an object being moved from far to near the eyes.
- + Tell the patient to focus on the furthest point of the room, and to focus when adding the pen into their vision.
Accommodation is impaired in lesions of the ipsilateral optic nerve, the ipsilateral parasympathetics traveling in CN III, or the pupillary constrictor muscle, or in bilateral lesions of the pathways from the optic tracts to the visual cortex.
Visual field test:
- + Ask patient to keep their eyes looking towards your nose.
- + In all four quadrants, wiggle your fingers and ask the patient to identify if they see them.
Common field defects include:
1 = Bitemporal Heminanopia: Lesion at the optic chiasm (Pituitary tumour).
2= Homonymous Heminanopia: Lesion posterior to the optic chiasm (Posterior cerebral artery territory infarction).
3= Blindness in one eye: Lesion in the eye, retina or the optic nerve.

Expansion of the blind spot – central scotoma.
Central scotoma is an area of depressed vision that corresponds with the point of fixation and interferes with central vision. It suggests a lesion between the optic nerve head and the chiasm.
- + Multiple sclerosis – which may cause unilateral or asymmetrical bilateral scotoma
- + Nutritional causes – which may be due to, e.g. alcohol or tobacco amblyopia, B12 deficiency
- + Vascular lesions – which may cause unilateral scotoma
- + Gliomas of the optic nerve – this may cause unilateral scotoma
- + Simple glaucoma – which may initially cause an off-centre scotoma

CN III – Oculomotor, CN IV – Trochlear & CN VI – Abducent:

All involved in movements of the eye.

+ Oculomotor: Motor, Oculomotor nucleus, Edinger-Westphal nucleus (both in the midbrain) divides into superior and inferior, through the superior orbital fissure (SOF) and into the orbital cavity. All other extraocular muscles, also carries parasympathetic (constrictor) fibres to pupil, and fibres to levator palpebrae superioris.

+ Trochlear: Motor, Dorsal Midbrain, SOF, orbital cavity. Supplies superior oblique muscle

+ Abducent: Motor, Lower Pons, SOF, orbital cavity. Supplies lateral rectus muscle

For the full anatomy, see the link for a short powerpoint: http://www.slideshare.net/farhan_aq91/cranial-nerve-iii-iv-and-vi

Examination:
The ‘H’ Test:
- + Ask the patient to keep their head in a straight position, whilst using a (preferably red tipped) pen and draw an H shape with their eyes following.
- + Ask the patient to report any Diplopia (double vision), if so, at what point. Also keep an eye out for nystagmus (involuntary eye shaking).
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Double-vision/Pages/Causes.aspx

Eye Movements:

Look at eyes in a relaxed state.
3rd nerve palsy:
- + Eye often down and out.
6th nerve palsy:
- + Osten eyes convergent (unchallenged medial rectus).
Look at the pupils. – Dilation – bilateral or unilateral?
Look for drooping of the eye lid = Ptosis.

CN V – Trigeminal Nerve:

Both sensory and motor.
Pons, Medulla and Midbrain origin.
Exits:
- + V1 = SOF.
- + V2 = Rotundum.
- + V3= Ovale.
Sensory = face.
- + 3 branches = ophthalmic, maxillary and mandibular.
Motor = mastication = masseter and temporalis.

Examination:
Sensory = cotton wool.
+ Jaw line.
+ Cheeks.
+ Forehead.
The corneal reflex could also be examined as the sensory supply to the cornea is from this nerve.
Do this by lightly touching the cornea with the cotton wool. This should cause the patient to shut their eyelids.

Motor = Muscle testing.
Ask the patient to clench their teeth, whilst feeling the temporals and masseter muscles.
Ask the patient to open their mouth against practitioner resistance.
Finally, perform the jaw jerk on the patient by placing your left index finger on their chin and striking it with a tendon hammer. This should cause slight protrusion of the jaw.

CN 6 – Abducent Nerve:

Tested with CN III & CN IV.
Dysfunction of ipsilateral rectus muscle leads to lateral gaze palsy.

CN 7 – Facial Nerve:

Motor and Sensory and Para Sympathetic.
Pons. Exits Internal Auditory Meatus & Stylomastoid foramen.
Motor:
- + Muscles of facial expression.
Sensory:
- + Anterior 2/3rd’s of tongue.
Para Symp:
- + Supply to lacrimal, submandibular and sub lingual glands.
Dysfunction:
- + Bell’s palsy.
- +/- Ageusia – Inability to taste.
- +/- Hypogeusia – Reduced ability to taste.

Examination:
Facial expressions.
- + Frown.
- + Raise eye brows.
- + Smile – teeth showing.
- + Blow cheeks out.
- + Keeps eyes closed against resistance.

CN 8 – Vestibulocochlear:

Sensory.
Pons and Medula Oblongata. Exits internal acoustic meatus of the temporal bone.
Hearing and equilibrium
Provides innervation to the hearing apparatus of the ear and can be used to differentiate conductive and sensori-neural hearing loss using the Rinne and Weber tests.
Conducts two special senses:
Hearing (audition) and balance (vestibular). The receptor cells for these special senses are located in the membranous labyrinth which is embedded in the petrous part of the temporal bone.

Positional vertigo is the most common problem, although tinnitus, hearing loss, and deafness may also occur following damage. Positional vertigo occurs, usually for about 30 seconds, with sudden changes in position, usually from lying to sitting or from sitting to standing.

Examination:
To carry out the Rinne test: Place a sounding tuning fork on the patient’s mastoid process and then next to their ear and ask which is louder. A normal patient will find the second position louder.
To carry out the Weber’s test: Place the tuning fork base down in the centre of the patient’s forehead and ask if it is louder in either ear. Normally it should be heard equally in both ears.

CN 9 – Glossopharyngeal:

Both motor and sensory and para sympathetic.
Medulla oblongata, exits through the jugular foreman.
Sensory: taste from posterior 1/3rd of the tongue, larynx, carotid sinus and body.
Motor: pharyngeal muscle.
Para symp: Salivary glands.

CN X – Vagus:

Both motor and sensory.
From the brain stem, through the jugular foreman to the viscera.

Examination of CN IX & X:
The Glossopharyngeal nerve: Provides sensory supply to the palate. It can be tested with the gag reflex or by touching the arches of the pharynx.

The Vagus nerve (CN X): provides motor supply to the pharynx. Asking the patient to speak gives a good indication to the efficacy of the muscles. The uvula should be observed before and during the patient saying “aah”. Check that it lies centrally and does not deviate on movement.
Dysfunction: Glossopharyngeal nerve & Vagus nerve:
Damage results usually from surgery, cancer, aortic arch aneurysms.
Dysfunction:
Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) and dysarthria (difficulty talking) are caused by injury to the nuclei of the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves.
Aphonia (inability to speak through disease of or damage to the larynx or mouth) or weak/hoarse voice are caused by injury to the vagus nerve.

CN XI – The Accessory Nerve:

Motor.
Medulla oblongata, jugular foramen and foramen magnum.
SCM and Trapezius muscles, pharynx and soft palate.
Spinal part prone to injury as it travels in the posterior lateral portion of the cervical spine.
Examination:
Cranial part – Testing the SCM. – resisted sidebending and rotation.
Spinal part – Testing the trapezius. – resisted shoulder shrug.

CN XII – Hypoglossal Nerve:

Motor.
Origin is the medulla oblongata, exiting out of the hypoglossal canal.
Supplies all the intrinsic muscles and all extrinsic (except one) of the tongue, and the Styloglossus, Geniglossus, Hyoglossus.

Examination:
Observe the tongue for any signs of wasting or fasciculations.
Ask the patient to stick their tongue out and move left, right, up, down. If the tongue deviates (on protrusion) or can’t complete to either side, it suggests a weakening of the muscles on that side.

Thank you for reading! I hope you found this helpful! If you have anything to add, please let me know!

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Abdominal Examination

March 5, 2015 AlanSidebottom Leave a comment

Abdominal Examination For OS4.

Exam Flow:

Inspection of the hands, face, tongue, chest and neck.
Radial pulse.
Palpation. – The 5 F’s.
- + AAA.
- + Superficial palpation.
Auscultation.
Palpation.
- + Deeper palpation – organomegaly.
  - + Liver.
  - + Spleen.
  - + Kidneys.
  - + Bladder. (optional).
Percuss.

Inspection of the hands, face, eyes, tongue, neck and chest:

First of all, have the patient seated on the couch, laying down – exposed from the waist up. Throughout this exam, always keep in mind the 5 F’s:
Fat.
Fluid.
Fetus.
Flatus. (Gas).
Faeces.

Hands:

Koil-onychia:
Also known as spoon nails, is a nail disease that can be a sign of hypochromic anaemia, especially iron-deficiency anaemia.

Leuk-onychia:
Known as white nails or milk spots, is a medical term for white discoloration appearing on nails. Due to air bubbles present between the nail and its bed. Also Hypoalbumineamia.

Clubbing:
An abnormal widening and thickening of the finger tips and nails.
+ Crohn’s disease. (Type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, commonly effecting the colon and ileum. Associated with ulcers and fistulae).
+ Ulcerative colitis. (A form of inflammatory disease (IBD) of the colon, the largest part of the large intestines. That includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores).
+ Coeliac disease. (Small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to difficulty in digesting food).
To test for clubbing, use the Schamroth’s Window Test.

Asterixis (Flapping tremor):
Quite slow frequency, whole hand tilts forwards – a result of encephalopathy (brain function disease) caused by urea.

Palmar erythema:
A reddening of the thenar and hypothenar eminences.
“Corn Beef Hands”.
Chronic liver disease.
Pregnancy.

Nicotine staining.

Dupuytren’s contracture:
Alcoholic liver disease.
Known as Vikings Disease.
Is a connective tissue disorder – a fixed flexion contracture of the hand due to palmar fibromatosis (refers to a group of benign (non-harmful) soft tissue tumours).

Eyes:

Check the conjunctiva (mucous membrane that covers the front of the eye and lines the inside of the eyelids) to check for Pallor –> anaemia.
Check the Sclera (White outer layer of the eyeball) for jaundice (excess pigment bilirubin and typically caused by obstruction of the bile duct, liver disease, or excessive breakdown of RBC’s).
Xanthelasma.

Mouth:

Patient opens, look at the inside of the mouth, inside of cheeks for any ulcers –> Chron’s disease (Type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, commonly effecting the colon and ileum. Associated with ulcers and fistulae).
Look at the tongue.
- + Fat and red = possible sign of anaemia.
Side of the mouth where the lips meet.
- + Angular Stomatitis, Inflammation corners of the mouth commonly unilaterally but can be bilateral. Commonly linked to candidiasis (oral thrush).

Neck:

Palpate the Virchow’s Node in the upper left supraclavicular fossa, this node drains the thoracic duct. Enlargement or Troisier’s sign may suggest metastatic cancer from either the abdomen or lungs.

Radial Pulse Check:

There is some argument as to whether this should be performed or not in an abdominal exam.
Good indicator of Sepsis (Harmful bacteria and their toxins in tissue) or Thyroid Disease.
Rate or bounding.
Rate is increased with asthma patients.
At the wrist, lateral to the flexor carpi radialis.
Three fingers over one artery, assess rate, rhythm and volume.
Count over 15 seconds and multiply by 4.
Then palpate both radial pulses at the same time to assess volume differences.
Palpate the radial and ipsilateral femoral pulse (radio-femoral delay).

Next step is to get the patient to lay down flat on the couch from the currently seated position.

Chest:

Spider Naevi. A cluster of minute red blood vessels visible under the skin, occurring typically during pregnancy or as a symptom of certain diseases (e.g. Alcoholic cirrhosis, Liver cirrhosis but can be caused by any condition that results in increased levels of oestrogen). 5 or more = significant.

In males, check for Gynaecomastia: (Enlargement of a man’s breasts. Hormone imbalance).
Both of these are characteristics of Liver Pathology.

Now just have a general over look of the abdomen:

Scars.
Masses.
Pulsations.
Abdominal distension – fluid/air that has built up to go beyond the normal girth of the stomach and waist. Underlying disease or dysfunction in the body rather than an illness in its own right. “Bloated Feeling”.

Auscultation:

Auscultation for bowel sounds may be carried out before percussion and palpation due to adverse effect that these procedures may have on the sound from the bowels.
Listen with the diaphragm around the quadrants for up to 30 seconds.
Listen for arterial bruits over the aorta. They may also arise from stenosis of renal arteries.
Listen for friction rubs over liver and spleen.
High pitched may indicate bowel obstruction. Sounds like water being poured from one cup to another.
Absence of sounds may be also be caused by peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneum).

Palpation:

Firstly palpate the abdominal aorta checking for AAA.
Palpation of the abdomen should be performed in a systematic way using the 9 named segments of the abdomen:
- + Right and left hypochondrium,
- + Right and left lumbar flanks,
- + The umbilical area,
- + The hypogastric,
- + The right and left iliac regions.
Initial examination should be superficial using one hand. Place the hand flat over each area and flex at the metacarpophalangeal joints. You should feel whether the abdomen is soft but you should always be looking at the patient’s face for any signs of pain. – hedgehog hand.
Once all 9 areas have been examined superficially, you should move on to examine deeper.
A deeper exam is performed with two hands, one on top of the other again flexing at the MCP joints.
Use Mc’Burney’s Point, add pressure, if pain = possibility of appendicitis.

Murphy’s sign can be elicited by placing your examining fingers over the gallbladder area and then asking the patient to take a deep breath.
If Murphy’s sign is positive, there will be sudden reaction of the pain on inspiration and inspiration will be inhibited.

Organomegaly:

Liver, Spleen and Kidneys:

Palpation for the liver and spleen is similar, both starting in the right iliac fossa.
For the liver: press upwards towards the right hypochondrium. You should try to time the palpation with the patient’s breathing – in as this presses down on the liver If nothing is felt you should move towards the costal margin. Should feel soft but firm. (Fish tongue).
Palpating for the spleen: Start well below the left costal margin. Ask patient to breath deeply, feel for splenic edge as it descends on inspiration. Not normally palpable.
To feel for the kidneys: Right lower than Left. General population can’t be palpable. Place one hand under the patient L1/L2 in the lateral region and the other hand on top. You should then try to bring the kidney between the two hands by bring up the inferior hand and pushing the superior hand down. In the majority of people the kidneys are not palpable, but they maybe in thin patients who have no renal pathology.
Kidney palpation can also be done seated too. Palpate the renal angle for tenderness. Gently percuss with closed fist “Kidney Punch.”

Percussion:

Percussion over the abdomen is usually resonant (deep and clean sound), if there is a dull sound it usually means solid or liquid.
Percussion allows you to determine if abdominal distension is because of solid or cystic tumours, ascites (the accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, causing abdominal swelling), or gas.

Fullness of the flanks may be the first indication of ascites.
Percussion for shifting dullness:
Supine. Percuss from the umbilical region moving down towards one side.
When the sound becomes dull, mark the spot (or keep your finger there) and ask the patient to move on to the opposite side. Give a short while for the fluid to sink and percuss again.
If the marked spot now becomes resonant that is a positive sign of ascites .
Percuss back down towards the umbilicus until dullness is reached again. Repeat on the other side.

Eliciting a fluid thrill:
With one hand on the patient’s flank, flick the skin over the other flank using a finger. If an impulse or ‘fluid thrill’ is felt, this indicates a positive sign.
However, to be certain, you should repeat the examination with the patient’s hand along their midline in the sagittal plane to dampen any possible thrill transmitted by the abdominal wall.

It can be considered to do that auscultation part of this exam again, to check for possible changes in the gut due to all of the previous changes.