History and Physical Examination Flashcards
7 cards from real Physician Assistant practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 History and Physical Examination flashcards as text
A 28-year-old presents with a painless ulcer on the glans penis with indurated edges. Which historical detail is MOST important to obtain first?
Answer: Sexual history and partner information
A painless indurated penile ulcer is characteristic of primary syphilis (chancre); sexual history is essential to assess exposure and guide STI workup.
On thyroid examination, which technique best differentiates a thyroid mass from another neck mass?
Answer: Ask the patient to swallow and observe if the mass moves superiorly
Thyroid masses move upward with swallowing because the thyroid is attached to the trachea by the pretracheal fascia.
A 65-year-old with COPD has a barrel chest. Which physical exam finding would you also expect?
Answer: Hyperresonance to percussion
Air trapping in COPD leads to hyperinflation, causing hyperresonance to percussion and an increased AP:lateral diameter ratio (barrel chest).
During review of systems (ROS), a patient reports 'constitutional symptoms.' Which cluster of symptoms does this term encompass?
Answer: Fever, chills, fatigue, weight loss, and night sweats
Constitutional symptoms refer to systemic, non-organ-specific complaints including fever, chills, fatigue, unintentional weight loss, and night sweats.
A patient has 3+ pitting edema to the knee bilaterally. Which of the following would be LEAST likely to cause this finding?
Answer: Peripheral arterial disease
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) causes ischemia, not dependent edema; bilateral pitting edema results from volume overload or reduced oncotic pressure.
The Lachman test is used to assess integrity of which structure?
Answer: Anterior cruciate ligament
The Lachman test, performed with the knee at 20-30° flexion with anterior tibial translation, evaluates ACL integrity and has high sensitivity for ACL tears.
When documenting a patient's past medical history (PMH), which information is MOST appropriately recorded under PMH rather than history of present illness (HPI)?
Answer: Prior hospitalization for pneumonia 5 years ago
Past hospitalizations and resolved diagnoses belong in PMH, while details related to the current complaint are part of the HPI.