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Palpation is used as
part of a physical examination in which an object is felt (usually
with the hands of a healthcare practitioner) to determine its size,
shape, firmness, or location. Palpation should not be confused with
palpitation, which is an awareness of the beating of the heart.
Palpation is used by various therapists such as medical doctors,
practitioners of chiropractic, osteopathic medicine, physical
therapists, occupational therapists, and massage therapists, to
assess the texture of a patient's tissue (such as swelling or muscle
tone), to locate the spatial coordinates of particular anatomical
landmarks (e.g., to assess range and quality of joint motion), and
assess tenderness through tissue deformation (e.g. provoking pain
with pressure or stretching).
Palpation is typically used for thoracic and abdominal examinations,
but can also be used to diagnose edema and to measure the pulse. It
is used by veterinarians to check animals for pregnancy, and by
midwives to determine the position of a fetus.
Quantitative palpation of anatomical landmarks for measurements must
occur according strict protocols if one wishes to achieve
reproducible measurements. Palpation protocols are usually based on
well-described definitions for the location of anatomical, usually
skeletal, landmarks.
In summary, palpation
might be used either to determine painful areas and to qualify pain
felt by patients, or to locate three-dimensional coordinates of
anatomical landmarks to quantify some aspects of the palpated
subject.
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