noun
palpation
pal-PAY-shun/pælˈpeɪʃn/
Medical examination by feeling the body with the hands.
The clinician uses palpation to examine the patient's abdomen with gentle pressure.
Etymology
Palpare supplies the action of touching or stroking. Palpation names that action as a process, with the medical sense focusing on examination through touch.
In context
we can just feel the chest wall as well do our palpation
More examples
- Gentle palpation reveals a tender spot below her ribs.
- The nurse checks his abdomen by palpation.
- Medical students practice palpation to learn how normal tissues feel.
Forms
palpation · palpations
palpate verb — Examine the body by touching it.
Similar words
- examination
- Covers medical checks generally, not just feeling with the hands.
- feeling
- Describes touch generally, without necessarily involving a medical examination.