PERCUSSION

Percussion

Percussion is a method of tapping on a surface to determine the underlying structure, and is used in clinical examinations to assess the condition of the thorax or abdomen. It is one of the five methods of clinical examination, together with inspection, palpation, auscultation, and smell. It is done with the middle finger of one hand tapping on the middle finger of the other hand using a wrist action. The non striking finger is placed firmly on the body over tissue. When percussing boney areas such as the clavicle the spleximeter can be omitted and the bone is tapped directly such as when percussing an apical cavitary lung lesion typical of TB.

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Percussion (medicine)
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percussion

Noun

  1. the collision of two bodies in order to produce a sound
  2. the sound so produced
  3. the detonation of a percussion cap in a firearm
  4. the tapping of the body as an aid to medical diagnosis
  5. the section of an orchestra or band containing percussion instruments; such instruments considered as a group
  6. the repeated striking of an object to break or shape it, as in percussion drilling


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: percussion
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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