Palpation

Palpation

Palpation is a fundamental component of physical examinations, involving the manual examination of an object, usually by the hands of a healthcare professional, to assess its size, shape, texture, firmness, or position. It is essential not to confuse palpation with palpitation, which refers to the sensation of the heart beating.

Various healthcare practitioners, including medical doctors, chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and massage therapists, utilize palpation to evaluate tissue texture (such as detecting swelling or muscle tone), identify specific anatomical landmarks (for assessing joint mobility and quality of motion), and assess tenderness by applying pressure or stretching.

While commonly employed in thoracic and abdominal examinations, palpation is also useful for diagnosing edema and measuring pulse rates. Veterinarians use palpation to check animals for signs of pregnancy, and midwives use it to determine fetal positioning.

For accurate measurements of anatomical landmarks, quantitative palpation follows strict protocols to ensure reproducibility. These protocols typically adhere to well-defined definitions for locating anatomical landmarks, usually skeletal in nature.

In summary, palpation serves two primary purposes: identifying areas of tenderness and assessing pain reported by patients, and determining the three-dimensional coordinates of anatomical landmarks to quantify various aspects of the subject being palpated.