A primary care doctor guides us through the abdominal physical exam.
He deciphers the much-written notation of “Abd: Soft, NT, Normal BS, no HSM or masses*,” and explains what physicians look for when they poke, prod, percuss, and listen to when examining a patient’s belly.
You’d be surprised at some of the things we find simply by pressing on the abdomen.
* For those who need translation, the notation is short for “Abdomen: Soft, non-tender, normal bowel sounds, no hepatosplenomegaly or masses.”
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{ 1 comment }
I prefer just to write “Normal”
Medicare pays the same. It costs less in transcription and nobody reads it anyway.
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