Thorax and Lungs Assessment Paper
Thorax and Lungs Assessment Paper
t the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Begin the practice of sequencing and coordinating the comprehensive physical exam of the adult patient in the thorax and lungs.
Identify the anatomical landmarks of the human body in the thorax and lungs.
Correlate examination techniques of the thorax and lungs using the correct sequence and anatomical landmarks in an adult patient.
Use correct terminology to record objective components of the physical examination findings. Thorax and Lungs Assessment Paper
Learning Materials
Read the following in your Bates Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking textbook:
Chapter 15, Thorax and Lungs
This reading will help you perform a thorax and lungs assessment, recognize pertinent positives and negatives, and also document appropriately.
Instructional Materials
Head-to-Toe Assessment (Adult) Video: Anterior Thorax and Lungs
The following video will demonstrate how to examine the anterior thorax and lungs.
Transcript Head-to-Toe Assessment (Adult): Anterior Thorax and Lungs (NUR 600, Week 5)
Narrator: : To examine the anterior thorax, have the patient remain supine and breathing normally. Readjust draping appropriately. Observe the condition of the skin and inspect the chest for deformities, asymmetry, and respiratory movement. Next, palpate the chest wall to locate any areas of tenderness or to assess any lesions or abnormalities.
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Next, percuss the anterior thorax in symmetrical areas, proceeding from the supraclavicular area down to the 6th rib or below. Again, compare both sides. Identify your percussion notes and the locations. Using the diaphragm of your stethoscope, you should hear resonance over the anterior lung fields.
Transcript Head-to-Toe Assessment (Adult): Back, Posterior Thorax, and Lungs (NUR 600, Week 5)
Narrator: : Positioned behind the patient, continue by inspecting and palpating the muscles of the upper back. Then, inspect and palpate the chest and percuss the lungs. Inspect for shape, symmetry, and deformities. Percuss the lungs in a systematic manner, going from side to side as you move down the thorax from the apices to the bases of the lungs. Listen to the intensity, pitch, and duration of your percussion notes and decide what kind of notes you are hearing. Normal lungs are resonant. Locate any areas where you hear abnormal notes.
Lynn Bickley: : Breathe out.
Narrator: : Next, use percussion to identify the level of diaphragmatic dullness and measure descent of the diaphragm.
Lynn Bickley: Breathe.
Narrator: To assess respiratory excursion, place your thumbs close to the patient spine at the level of the 10th ribs and spread your hands lightly over the lower thorax. Ask the patient to inhale deeply and exhale fully while you watch the divergence of your thumbs and feel for the range and symmetry of movement.
To auscultate the posterior thorax, begin at the apices and proceed downward, moving systematically from side to side while comparing the sounds in symmetrical areas. Using the diaphragm of the stethoscope, observe the rate, rhythm, depth, and effort of breathing and listen for adventitious sounds that my indicate abnormal respiratory conditions. Listen to at least one entire breathing cycle at each location.
