Physical/neurological exam
Author: Gesche Tallen, MD, PhD, erstellt am: 2007/07/02, Editor: Prof. Dr. med. Ursula Creutzig, Reviewer: Prof. Dr. med. Ursula Creutzig, English Translation: Dr. med. Gesche Tallen, Last modification: 2010/04/22
Prior to every treatment and usually also prior to any other diagnostic procedures, the child or teenager with cancer undergoes a physical, including a neurological exam. This exam does not hurt. The physicians take a thorough look at the young patient, palpate certain body regions and use different devices, such as a stethoscope, a little lamp and others, to measure blood pressure, to listen to the sound of heart, lungs and tummy, to check throat, eyes and ears and to examine the reflexes. Also, the doctors often ask the patient, if he/she is in good enough shape, to help assessing the function of certain organs, for example by holding their breath for a moment or by openig their mouth widely or by jumping up and down on one foot.
For every patient, the physical exam usually includes the examination of:
- vital signs (general state, nutritional state, state of consciousness, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, body temperature)
- developmental state (body weight, body length, head circumference, soft spots (fontanelles), developmental milestones, general behaviour)
- skin (colour, complexion, potential distinctive features (such as cafe-au-lait spots as a sign of Neurofibromatosis Type 1)
- skeleton (posture, skull shape, mobility of joints, possible malformations)
- head and neck (mouth, throat, eyes, nose, ears, cranial nerves - please see also our information on structure and function of the central nervous system)
- heart (sounds), lungs (breathing pattern), abdomen (sounds, palpation of spleen and liver)
- loins (to check on possible kidney problems)
- privates (developmental state, to detect possible malformations)
- muscle function (strength and tone, possible palsies)
- reflexes ( please see also our information on structure and function of the central nervous system)
- sensibility (for example sensibility of the extremities to touch and temperature)
- coordination (gait, jumping on one leg, penmanship to name a few)
- language and speech (sound of words, rhetorical skills etc.)
Note: Although every physical/neurological exam follows a certain pattern, every doctor may have her/his own routine. This means, that the physical exam done with you (your child) might differ a little bit from the pattern described above.
