Clinical Anatomy Cases: An Integrated Approach With Physical Examination And Medical Imaging
preface
Medical education is evolving. Yet, today, many topics are often taught in isolation, and trainees are presented with the daunting task of integrating various concepts in medicine
. Several years ago, we experienced that three key topics-anatomy, physical examination, and medical imaging-were fragmented through different stages of medical education and that trainees lacked a single resource to integrate these topics
. This fragmentation gave rise to the idea of Clinical Anatomy Cases as a way to amalgamate all three concepts into a single resource
. Clinical Anatomy Cases uses a highly graphical approach to describe seven anatomical regions
. The introductory chapter outlines our integrated approach and provides the fundamentals of the physical examination, medical imaging modalities, and commonly used statistical concepts. The seven anatomical regions continue this integrated approach and lead the reader through several common clinical presentations and diseases
. Where relevant, we also include a concise list of differential diagnoses and high-yield clinical pearls
. We decided to create this resource as it addresses a gap in our approach to education
. We remain confident that this integrated resource will appeal to medical students, residents, and students in health disciplines including nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dentistry, and physician assistants program
. In addition to being beneficial to students, this book will also serve as a convenient resource for faculty members to include in their courses or integrated curricula
. Further, the topics presented here complement the clinical focus of related Wolters Kluwer publications such as Clinically Oriented Anatomy and Essential Clinical Anatomy
. We hope that this book generates additional resources that integrate various aspects of medical education .
Focused Physical Examination
After recording Mr. Smith's vital signs, the clinician next performs a focused physical examination while keeping in mind the underlying anatomy
. One approach for performing an examination is based on the IPPA method: inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation
. The IPPA method is a general framework and has some notable exceptions
. One, during an abdominal examination, the clinician first auscultates the abdomen as palpation and percussion can affect bowel sounds. Two, during a musculoskeletal examination (e.g., of the knee or hip), percussion and auscultation are not necessary . Finally, in addition to IPPA, some physical examinations include maneuvers specific to an anatomic region. For example, the knee examination will include assessment of gait, range of motion (ROM), motor power, and joint stability. The details on how to perform a specific physical examination along with special tests or maneuvers are described in the relevant chapter
. During inspection and palpation, the first organ system to be encountered is the integumentary system. The integumentary system consists of the skin (epidermis and dermis), hair, nails .
