Abdominal Physical Signs and Medical Eponyms: Part I. Percussion, 1871-1900.

BACKGROUND: Percussion is derived from the Latin word to hear and to touch. Percussion of the abdomen is used to detect areas of tenderness, dullness within an area of tenderness suggestive of a mass, shifting dullness representing fluid or blood, splenic, hepatic and bladder enlargement, and free air in the peritoneum. Covered are abdominal signs of percussion attributed as medical eponyms from the time-period beginning in the mid-late nineteenth century. Described is historical information behind the sign, descriptions of the sign, and implication in modern clinical practice. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Medline, online Internet word searches, textbooks, and references from other source text. PubMed was searched using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of the name of the eponyms and text words associated with the sign. CONCLUSION: Percussion signs defined as medical eponyms were important discoveries adopted by physicians prior to the advent of radiographs and other imaging and diagnostic techniques. The signs perfected during this time-period provided important clinical cues as to the presence of air within the peritoneum or rupture of the spleen.

Abdominal Physical Signs and Medical Eponyms: Part II. Percussion and Auscultation, 1924-1980.

BACKGROUND: Percussion and auscultation are derived from the Latin words to touch and hear, respectively. Covered are abdominal percussion signs and ausculatory signs discovered from 1924 to 1980. Signs ascribed as medical eponyms pay homage to these physicians who provided new and unique insights into disease. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Medline, online Internet word searches, textbooks, and references from other source text. PubMed was searched using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of the name of the eponyms and text words associated with the sign. CONCLUSION: Many of these signs have been discarded because of modern imaging and diagnostic techniques. When combined with a high clinical suspicion, positive results using percussion combined with palpation is a useful bedside technique in detecting splenic enlargement. Thus, some of these maneuvers remain important bedside techniques that skilled practitioners should master, and along with a meaningful history, provide relevant information to diagnosis. It is through learning about these signs that we gain a sense of humility on the difficulty physicians faced prior to the advent of techniques that now allow us an easier way to visualize and diagnose the underlying disease processes.

Abdominal Physical Signs and Medical Eponyms: Part III. Physical Examination of Palpation, 1926-1976.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes medical eponyms associated with abdominal palpation from the period 1926-1976. Despite opposition by some, eponyms are a long standing tradition and widely used in medicine. The techniques may still be useful in some cases, assisting in the selection of an appropriate and cost-effective approach to patient care. In this piece, we cover signs named in honor of physicians who contributed to medicine by developing new palpatory techniques in an attempt to better diagnose disease of the abdominal wall, umbilicus, gallbladder, pancreas, and appendix. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Medline, online Internet word searches, textbooks, and references from other source texts. PubMed was searched using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of the name of the eponyms and text words associated with the sign. CONCLUSION: We describe brief historical background information about the physician who reported the sign, original description of the sign, and its clinical application and implication into today's medical practice.

Venothromboembolic signs and medical eponyms: Part II.

Eponyms were established to serve the purpose of honoring individuals who have made important observations and discoveries. The use of eponyms remains controversial, and important questions have been raised regarding their appropriateness. Although there have been instances where eponyms were abandoned, the remainder are largely embedded within the established literature making their disappearance unlikely. Physicians used a variety of techniques to describe signs of medical eponyms as a method for diagnosing deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE) or venothromboembolism (VTE). These methods (observation, palpation, pressure, or maneuvers), were detected during the physical examination and using bedside sphygmomanometer or radiographic imaging. Reviewed are both common and less frequently encountered VTE eponyms identified during the physical examination and radiologic imaging. Most of these signs have not been further studied and, therefore, there is a lack of information regarding their accuracy and reliability in clinical practice.

Abdominal Physical Signs and Medical Eponyms: Part II. Physical Examination of Palpation, 1907-1926.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal palpation is an important clinical skill used by physicians to detect the cause of the underlying disease. Abdominal physical signs reported as medical eponyms are sometimes helpful in supporting or confirming clinical suspicion of a diagnosis. With the advent of advanced and rapid imaging techniques physicians often know the diagnosis prior to setting their hands on patients. Nevertheless, knowledge of these signs may still remain important in settings where imaging may not be readily available and importantly provide deeper insights into the mechanism of disease. In this paper, described are medical eponyms associated with abdominal palpation from the period 1907-1926. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Medline, on-line Internet word searches, textbooks, and references from other source text were used as the data source. PubMed was searched using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of the name of the eponyms and text words associated with the sign. CONCLUSION: We describe brief historical background information about the physician who reported the sign, original description of the sign, and its clinical application and implication into today's medical practice.

Abdominal Physical Signs and Medical Eponyms: Physical Examination of Palpation Part 1, 1876-1907.

BACKGROUND: Abdominal palpation is a difficult skill to master in the physical examination. It is through the tactile sensation of touch that abdominal tenderness is detected and expressed through pain. Its findings can be used to detect peritonitis and other acute and subtle abnormalities of the abdomen. Some techniques, recognized as signs or medical eponyms, assist clinicians in detecting disease and differentiating other conditions based on location and response to palpation. Described in this paper are medical eponyms associated with abdominal palpation from the period 1876 to 1907. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Medline, on-line Internet word searches, textbooks and references from other source text were used as the data source. PubMed was searched using the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of the name of the eponyms and text words associated with the sign. CONCLUSION: We present brief historical background information about the physician who reported the sign, original description of the sign, and its clinical application and implication in today's medical practice.

[Brief introduction to the development of ancient history of paediatric diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine].

As an important part of paediatric science, paediatric diagnosis was in the initial stage of its development before the Song Dynasty. The main measures of diagnosing diseases were observation and pulse palpation, especially the latter. The rapid development of paediatrics in the Song Dynasty necessitated thepaediatric diagnosis to develop further, emphasizing the spiritual expressions of the eyes and fingerprint, with its special features gradually developed in the period of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties.During this period, the paediatrics diagnosis was developed on the basis of the previous generations, with equal importance paid to both observation and pulse feeling. In the period of the Ming and Qing Dynasties the four paediatric diagnostics were constantly enriched with attentions paid to the use of multiple approaches and thus the diagnostics was perfected day by day.

Medical ultrasound: imaging of soft tissue strain and elasticity.

After X-radiography, ultrasound is now the most common of all the medical imaging technologies. For millennia, manual palpation has been used to assist in diagnosis, but it is subjective and restricted to larger and more superficial structures. Following an introduction to the subject of elasticity, the elasticity of biological soft tissues is discussed and published data are presented. The basic physical principles of pulse-echo and Doppler ultrasonic techniques are explained. The history of ultrasonic imaging of soft tissue strain and elasticity is summarized, together with a brief critique of previously published reviews. The relevant techniques-low-frequency vibration, step, freehand and physiological displacement, and radiation force (displacement, impulse, shear wave and acoustic emission)-are described. Tissue-mimicking materials are indispensible for the assessment of these techniques and their characteristics are reported. Emerging clinical applications in breast disease, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, gynaecology, minimally invasive surgery, musculoskeletal studies, radiotherapy, tissue engineering, urology and vascular disease are critically discussed. It is concluded that ultrasonic imaging of soft tissue strain and elasticity is now sufficiently well developed to have clinical utility. The potential for further research is examined and it is anticipated that the technology will become a powerful mainstream investigative tool.

[Professor Józef Waclaw Grott and his methods of pancreas palpation]. / Profesor Józef Waclaw Grott i jego metody palpacyjnego badania trzustki.

Professor Józef Waclaw Grott (1894-1973), an outstanding Polish internist developed three methods of pancreas palpation (1935, 1947, 1948) that were of much diagnostic value in the twentieth century.

Notas históricas sobre la palpación del pulso arterial / Historic notes on the palpation of the arterial pulse

Se presenta un recuerdo histórico de la antigua técnica de la palpación del pulso desde la más remota antigüedad hasta la época contemporánea, basado en testimonios escritos tales como los papiros de Edwin Smith y Ebers, los tratados chinos de esfigmología y los textos de los médicos griegos Rufus de Efeso y Galeno de Pérgamo. Se describen los progresos en la palpación del pulso desde el Renacimiento, pasando por los siglos XVII y XVIII. Se recuerdan los primeros intentos del registro gráfico del pulso de Vierordt, Marley y Mackenzie, culminando con los progresos logrados por Allen y Wood en el siglo XX. Se enfatiza la importancia de mantener la enseñanza y la práctica de la palpación del pulso, como parte de las habilidades y destrezas clínicas de las jóvenes generaciones médicas del presente y del futuro.

Notas históricas sobre la palpación del pulso arterial / Historic notes on the palpation of the arterial pulse

Se presenta un recuerdo histórico de la antigua técnica de la palpación del pulso desde la más remota antig³edad hasta la época contemporánea, basado en testimonios escritos tales como los papiros de Edwin Smith y Ebers, los tratados chinos de esfigmología y los textos de los médicos griegos Rufus de Efeso y Galeno de Pérgamo. Se describen los progresos en la palpación del pulso desde el Renacimiento, pasando por los siglos XVII y XVIII. Se recuerdan los primeros intentos del registro gráfico del pulso de Vierordt, Marley y Mackenzie, culminando con los progresos logrados por Allen y Wood en el siglo XX. Se enfatiza la importancia de mantener la enseñanza y la práctica de la palpación del pulso, como parte de las habilidades y destrezas clínicas de las jóvenes generaciones médicas del presente y del futuro. (AU)

Notas históricas sobre la palpación del pulso arterial / Historic notes on the palpation of the arterial pulse

Se presenta un recuerdo histórico de la antigua técnica de la palpación del pulso desde la más remota antig³edad hasta la época contemporánea, basado en testimonios escritos tales como los papiros de Edwin Smith y Ebers, los tratados chinos de esfigmología y los textos de los médicos griegos Rufus de Efeso y Galeno de Pérgamo. Se describen los progresos en la palpación del pulso desde el Renacimiento, pasando por los siglos XVII y XVIII. Se recuerdan los primeros intentos del registro gráfico del pulso de Vierordt, Marley y Mackenzie, culminando con los progresos logrados por Allen y Wood en el siglo XX. Se enfatiza la importancia de mantener la enseñanza y la práctica de la palpación del pulso, como parte de las habilidades y destrezas clínicas de las jóvenes generaciones médicas del presente y del futuro. (AU)

Back problems. Historical perspective and clinical indications.

This article is presented as an introduction to the complex subject of back pain and its management in horses. It considers some of the historical perspectives and deals with some of the limiting factors when attempting to evaluate back pain. The clinical indications of a back problem are considered, as is the important distinction of primary versus secondary back pain. Finally, a list of considerations capable of causing back pain and impaired performance is included.

[Unearathed ancient pulsological books and theoroy of "three parts with nine palpation sites"].

Textual research is made on the evolution of the theory of "three parts with nine palpation sites" in TCM. It is concluded that the theory, having received the influence of ancient astrology and arithmatics, was sprouted in the Eastern Han Dynasty and still is valid today. It further points out that the arrangement of channel order, and selection of channel title were all influenced by the theory of "Three Parts with Nine Palpation Sites".