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percussion

Procedure: - examination to assess the density of a body part, primarily the chest or abdomen, performed by tapping the finger on the surface & listening to the sound produced Clinical significance: - percussion may suffice to outline the liver or the tip of the spleen (hyporesonance) or the air-filled portion of the lung (hyperresonance) - hyperresonance of the chest suggests pneumothorax or severe emphysema [2]

References

  1. 0Stedman's Medical Dictionary 27th ed, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1999
  2. Winter R, Smethurst D. Percussion--a new way to diagnose a pneumothorax Br J Anaesth. 1999 Dec;83(6):960-1. PMID: 10700802 Free article. https://www.bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(17)38169-2/pdf