Auscultation
Useful diagnostic information about bowel motion
is provided by auscultation. The clinician should
gently place the stethoscope on all quadrants of
the abdomen (right lower quadrant, right upper
quadrant, left lower quadrant, left upper quadrant
(Figure 1)). He or she should make sure that the
stethoscope is warm to avoid muscular contraction.
The clinician then listens for bowel sounds and
verifies the frequency and character of these
sounds. normal bowel sounds include clicks and
gurgles that occur frequently – approximately
fi ve to 35 times per minute (Talley and o’Connor
2010). borborygmi are loud peristaltic sounds
and gurgles, which occur in hyperactive intestinal
peristalsis. They may occur in the presence of
diarrhoea, obstruction of the small intestine or as a
result of hunger (Cox and steggall 2009).
In the case study involving Timothy, he had been
fasting for 48 hours and borborygmi, which could
be heard loudly, were the result of hyperperistalsis.
Generally, high-pitched or tinkling sounds can be
heard in early intestinal obstruction because of
the presence of fl uid and air under pressure in the
bowel loops. If bowel sounds are absent for seven
minutes in all four quadrants, this may indicate
paralytic ileus or peritonitis (Cox 2004).
by using the bell of the stethoscope, the clinician
can listen to the abdominal blowing or swishing
sounds in all four quadrants. bruits (abnormal
blowing or swishing sounds) over the renal, aortic,
iliac and femoral arteries may indicate stenosis
or other vascular anomalies. bruits originating
from the abdominal aorta may indicate dissecting
abdominal aneurysm, and in the renal area, may
suggest renal artery stenosis (bickley and szilaygi
2010). The clinician should listen for friction rubs,
denoted by a high-pitched sound, over the liver
and spleen since these may indicate a tumour in
an organ, infarction or infection (Epstein 2009).
Percussion
percussion of the abdomen is used to assess the
size and location of solid organs, for example the
liver, spleen and kidneys, and identify gas and fl uid
levels. The clinician should approach each of the
abdomen’s quadrants systematically to assess the
distribution of dull and tympanic sounds. Usually,
a dull sound is heard over solid organs such as the
liver and the spleen, whereas a tympanic sound can
be heard over an air-fi lled stomach or the intestines
(Coleman 2005).
percussion can be undertaken by keeping one or
two fi ngers of the non-dominant hand fi rmly on the
abdominal wall and using the fl exed middle fi nger of
the other hand as a hammer. The quality of sounds
generated is assessed for resonance or dullness.
Timothy had pain in his umbilical region and right
iliac fossa indicative of rebound tenderness – pain
after the clinician relaxes his or her hand during
palpation (Epstein 2009). In patients with suspected
appendicitis, both percussion and palpation need to
be done cautiously to avoid distressing the patient
(silen 2000). If the patient has suspected abdominal
aneurysm or has had an abdominal organ transplant,
then palpation and percussion is contraindicated to
avoid rupture (Cox and steggall 2009).
Palpation
The size of abdominal organs is assessed by
palpation, which will also identify any tumours
and may reveal any abdominal tenderness and
local muscle spasm. The clinician should perform
palpation gently and with warm hands. He or she
should start with light palpation using the palm and
fingertips to depress the abdominal wall by 1cm.
The clinician should move smoothly over the four
abdominal quadrants to identify skin temperature,
masses and tenderness. As previously mentioned,
pain occurring after the clinician relaxes his or her
hand is termed rebound tenderness and was noted
during Timothy’s examination. If the abdominal
wall is hard (rigid), this may indicate peritonitis or
appendicitis (Cox and steggall 2009).
deep palpation is used to assess the organs and
identify large masses. The clinician should press
the surface of his or her palm and fingers firmly