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Glam Journal

How do you Auscultate your stomach?

Author

Andrew Henderson

Updated on March 04, 2026

How do you Auscultate your stomach?

Place the diaphragm of your stethoscope lightly over the right lower quadrant and listen for bowel sounds. If you don’t hear any, continue listening for 5 minutes within that quadrant. Then, listen to the right upper quadrant, the left upper quadrant, and the left lower quadrant.

What is abdominal percussion?

Percussion is an important portion of the abdominal exam. It consists of tapping on the body wall and eliciting a sound that has different pitches for different structures. The changes in pitch differ depending upon the organ being percussed. Tapping during percussion can also cause the movement of fluid.

What is palpation abdomen?

Palpation is the examination of the abdomen for crepitus of the abdominal wall, for any abdominal tenderness, or for abdominal masses. The liver and kidneys may be palpable in normal individuals, but any other masses are abnormal.

What type of percussion notes are normally heard in the abdomen?

The anterior gas-filled abdomen normally has a tympanitic sound to percussion, which is replaced by dullness where solid viscera, fluid, or stool predominate. The flanks are duller as posterior solid structures predominate, and the right upper quadrant is somewhat duller over the liver.

What are the 9 abdominal regions?

These planes divide the abdomen into nine regions:

  • Right hypochondriac.
  • Right lumbar (or flank)
  • Right illiac.
  • Epigastric.
  • Umbilical.
  • Hypogastric (or pubic)
  • Left hypochondriac.
  • Left lumbar (or flank)

What are normal abdominal sounds?

Normal: Bowel sound consist of clicks and gurgles and 5-30 per minute. An occasional borborygmus (loud prolonged gurgle) may be heard.

How is percussion performed?

Percussion is an assessment technique which produces sounds by the examiner tapping on the patient’s chest wall. Just as lightly tapping on a container with your hands produces various sounds, so tapping on the chest wall produces sounds based on the amount of air in the lungs.

What is percussion used for?

Percussion is a method of tapping body parts with fingers, hands, or small instruments as part of a physical examination. It is done to determine: The size, consistency, and borders of body organs. The presence or absence of fluid in body areas.

What are the four types of palpation?

The front of your fingers are used to perform light palpation, deep palpation, light ballottement and deep ballottement.

What does McBurney’s point mean?

McBurney’s point: McBurney’s point is the most tender area of the abdomen of patients in the case of appendicitis. McBurney’s point is named after the 19th-century New York surgeon Charles McBurney (1845-1913) who was the leading authority in his day on the diagnosis and treatment of appendicitis.

What percussion sound is heard over most of the abdomen?

As the air-filled bowel loops are positioned in the closest proximity to the abdominal wall, the percussion over most parts of the abdominal cavity elicits a predominantly tympanic sound. The presence of large areas of dullness should prompt evaluation for organomegaly, intra-abdominal masses, or fluid.

How do you perform an abdominal percussion?

Abdominal Percussion

  1. Start just below the right breast in a line with the middle of the clavicle, a point that you are reasonably certain is over the lungs.
  2. Move your hand down a few centimeters and repeat.
  3. Continue your march downward until the sound changes once again.