4._Medical_exam_guide.docx

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MEDICAL EXAM REQUIREMENTS

A medical exam shall include the following:

Vital Signs. These are vital signs to be checked by your doctor:

· Blood pressure: Less than 120 over 80 is a normal blood pressure. Doctors define high blood pressure (hypertension) as 140 over 90 or higher.

· Heart rate: Values between 60 and 100 are considered normal. Many healthy people have heart rates slower than 60, however.

· Respiration rate: From 12 to 16 breaths per minute is normal for a healthy adult. Breathing more than 20 times per minute can suggest heart or lung problems.

· Temperature: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average, but healthy people can have resting temperatures slightly higher or lower.

General Appearance. Your doctor gathers a large amount of information about you and your health just by watching and talking to you. How is your memory and mental quickness? Does your skin appear healthy? Can you easily stand and walk?

Heart Exam. Listening to your heart with a stethoscope, a doctor might detect an irregular heartbeat, a heart murmur, or other clues to heart disease.

Lung Exam. Using a stethoscope, a doctor listens for crackles, wheezes, or decreased breath sounds. These and other sounds are clues to the presence of heart or lung disease.

Head and Neck Exam. Opening up and saying "ah" shows off your throat and tonsils. The quality of your teeth and gums also provides information about your overall health. Ears, nose, sinuses, eyes, lymph nodes, thyroid, and carotid arteries may also be examined.

Abdominal Exam. Your doctor can use a range of examination techniques including tapping your abdomen to detect liver size and presence of abdominal fluid, listening for bowel sounds with a stethoscope, and palpating for tenderness.

Neurological Exam. Nerves, muscle strength, reflexes, balance, and mental state may be assessed.

Dermatological Exam. Skin and nail findings could indicate a dermatological problem or disease somewhere else in the body.

Extremities Exam. Your doctor will look for physical and sensory changes. Pulses can be checked in your arms and legs. Examining joints can assess for abnormalities.

Male Physical Exam An annual physical exam for men shall also include:

· Testicular exam: A doctor can check each testicle for lumps, tenderness, or changes in size. Most men with testicular cancer notice a growth before seeing a doctor.

· Hernia exam: The famous "turn your head and cough" checks for a weakness in the abdominal wall between the intestines and scrotum.

· Penis exam: A doctor might notice evidence of sexually transmitted infections such as warts or ulcers on the penis.

· Prostate exam: Inserting a finger in the rectum lets a doctor feel the prostate for its size and any suspicious areas.

Female Physical Exam A woman's annual exam shall include:

· Breast exam. Feeling for abnormal lumps may detect breast cancer or benign breast conditions.

· Pelvic exam: The pelvic exam allows examination of the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus and ovaries.

Laboratory Tests These are standard laboratory tests for an annual physical. :

· Complete blood count

· Chemistry panel

· Urinalysis (UA) A screening lipid panel (cholesterol test) is required.